Starfleet Special Operations: USS Birkana
by Jedistitch
Summary: The launch of a new class of vessel, a Special Operations search and rescue vessel brings old characters and new into the Star Trek universe. The adventures of the USS Birkana takes the Star Trek universe, it's characters, and it's technology to an exciting new level.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Launch of the USS Birkana

For hundreds of years the same bi-level whistle heralded the entrance of Captains and Flag Officers of ships and fleets through modern history. This one was no different, except for the man stepping up to the podium in the main shuttle bay. This whistle was for him. He lifted a small PADD and read aloud to the assembled crowd and to those watching on the video feed throughout the ship.

"From Starfleet Command, stardate 55020.4: Captain Joshua Morgan: You are commanded and requested to assume command of the USS Birkana. Signed: Admiral Katherine Janeway, Starfleet Special Operations." He lowered the PADD and scanned the crowd.

"Thank you all for your attention. I am looking forward to meeting and serving with each and every one of you. Most of you volunteered for and requested this assignment and for that, I am grateful. We have an exciting new mission as well as these spiffy new uniforms."

He smiled and the assembled crew looked at each other, inspecting the newly commissioned uniforms. They resembled the Starfleet black uniform jumpsuit but instead of the varying colors representing the standard Starfleet departments on the upper part of the shoulder, everyone sported the same color: safety yellow! The various turtlenecks worn under the uniform represented the department colors. Some thought they were ugly but the new Captain thought different. He thought they were very appropriate given the nature of their special mission.

"Again, thank you all for coming. Department heads report to your CO by 1100 in regards to your operational readiness. Senior staff report to the briefing room at 1300. You are all dismissed!"

The crew began milling toward the door. Captain Morgan smiled again and thought to himself, "ok.. that went well." He turned to his Yeoman and began giving him instructions and issuing orders.

* * *

Captain Morgan sat in his office off the Main Bridge. Captain Picard had called it his "ready room." He thought that term was terribly British, although he was French, but Captain Morgan preferred the term "office." Other options considered were "The Batcave" or "The Fortress of Solitude" in deference to some of his fanciful childhood heroes. An attractive young woman sat opposite him and behind her stood a young man with a Holocam covering one eye. The young man tapped her on the shoulder and she glanced down at her PADD. She looked up to the Captain and asked him if he were ready. He responded with a smile and an affirmative nod. The man held up five fingers, then four, then three, two..and dropped his hand and placed it on the young woman's shoulder.

"Good Morning San Francisco, this is Vashi Sangalli with live coverage of the launch of the newly commissioned Starfleet Search and Rescue vessel, the USS Birkana. I'm here with her new Commanding Officer, Captain Joshua Morgan, who will tell us a little about his ship and crew and its mission. Captain Morgan, first tell me a little about the inception of this program and how it differs from regular Starfleet Operations?"

"Well Vashi, first let me say thank you for your warmth and positive attitude and thanks to those who have believed that this ship and her mission were possible. The Starfleet S&R, which, for your viewers, is shorthand for search and rescue, is a branch of Starfleet Special Operations, is a pilot program designed for rapid deployment, special operations, mass evacuation, rescue and medical triage and assistance. Some critics of the program say that this is the mission of ANY Starfleet vessel, and they would be correct. However, what makes us unique is that this is our specialty. This is what we are specifically trained to do. That is why this ship was built. Our mandate will also cover the usual Starfleet operations but our specific mission is to save lives."

"Captain, there have been many critics who have been very vocal regarding this ship and the use of Borg technology. What can you tell us about that?"

"There are some that say that we are little better than the Borg by using their technology that we obtained in defending ourselves from Borg attack. They say that we are hypocritical to utilize the advances and gains that we have obtained through the study of the Borg, which essentially, is assimilated technology. Much of the Borg technology used here came right off of Voyager upon her return from the Delta Quadrant. The Birkana was under construction at the time and as the technology was inspected and tested, it was decided to begin to incorporate it into the systems of the Birkana as they were installed. Make no mistake..I am very fortunate to Command this vessel and her crew. In many ways, this is the most advanced starship in the quadrant. I also feel that the Borg technology, technology that was obtained by the Borg through assimilation by force, is now being used for a much more noble purpose."

"I think that most people would agree with that sentiment. Captain, you touched on some of the Borg modifications, what can you tell me about those?"

"Well, I can tell you what isn't classified!" They both smiled. "The Birkana is a Prometheus Class Variant, which is an Intrepid Class Variant, similar to Voyager. She is about 15 percent larger than Voyager and utilizes the MVA, the Multiple-Vector Approach system.."

Vashi interrupted, "Don't you mean "multiple-vector attack" or "multiple-vector assault?"

"I prefer to think of it as a multiple vector approach. It's doesn't sound as aggressive and it presents a more positive outlook, given the specific nature of our mission. I hope to be doing much more "approaching" than "attacking" or "assaulting" anyway. The ship houses a regular crew of approximately 225. This includes all of the usual Starfleet personnel but include additional medical personnel, counselors, rescue specialists, and a platoon of Starfleet Special Forces. We also have specialists who are cross-trained in multiple disciplines. In fact, most of us can and do serve in several different areas. I am a Tactical Rescue Medic as well as being a high-angle / high-altitude / subterranean rescue specialist. Everyone on this ship volunteered for and requested reassignment to be on this vessel. I take pride in the fact that everyone here wants to be here. The crew believes in our mission and our ship."

"What else can you tell me about the ship?"

"Her tactical status is, of course, classified. I can tell you that the normal crew compliment of an Intrepid or Prometheus class cruiser is between 150 and 175. The Life Support and Replicator systems of this ship are considered "next generation." The ship is equipped with holo-emitters, and back-up holo-emitters, throughout, as well as back-up systems in critical areas. We can supplement crew personnel with H.A.P.s, or Holographic Assistance Personnel, for medical, tactical, engineering, or even security needs. Most of the crew quarters are in the saucer sections. Another major difference between this and other ships of this class is the advanced and interlinked holodecks."

"Please tell us about those. Starfleet Information Services press release stated that they were interconnected and could be randomly configured. I thought that was the purpose of a holodeck or holosuite"

"Again, you are correct. However, what makes our holodecks multi-functional is that they can be linked together to provide various containment environments, isolation units, emergency medical suits, surgical bays, large-scale bunk space for evacuees, or tremendous storage space. Another component is their size. They are three times the size of the standard Starfleet holodeck. Due to the integration of regenerative power conduits, Borg-style power distribution nodes, and nano-enhanced bio-neural gel packs, they are about 86 percent more efficient than the standard Starfleet holodecks. We can sustain any environment for months with negligible power drain to the ship's systems. Our life support also utilizes that same Borg technology. This not only vastly multiplies our efficiency but also gives us the ability to provide long-term life support for about 3000 life forms."

"That is absolutely amazing! I also understand that you have upgraded transporters on the Birkana."

"Well, we have the standard transporters for everyday use that you find on every other starship in the fleet or at your local trans-mat station. However, we have also incorporated MCETs: Mass Casualty Emergency Transporters. We could have 3000 evacuees on the ship in a matter of about 12 seconds. We can empty a Sovereign Class starship, literally, in almost less time than it takes for me to verbally issue the order. But, what we gain in time we have to marginally sacrifice in safety by omitting the multiple redundant back-up pattern buffers and basically storing as many transporter traces as possible until we can finalize the transport integration process. That has been one of the most controversial issues for people to understand and with which to cope. By using Borg-style enhanced information and data collection and storage nodes, we can store hundreds of thousands of transport patterns until we have space and time to complete the transport process. Yes, they are in "transport limbo," but they are safe. To reiterate, they are safe and utilize redundant buffers and integrators, but not the numerous ones that are used in the regular transporter. They MCETs are strictly for emergency use only."

"Can you share with us how they work and in what circumstances you would use them?"

"Of course. Let us say that we were the closest ship to galaxy class starship in distress. Upon arrival, once we have ascertained the type of distress, the decision may be made at that time to use the MCETs; an uncontrolled reactor breach in progress and ejection systems are offline…as they are want to do. Once the MCETs are unlocked and the order is issued for their use, several things happen almost instantaneously. Both ships are scanned and all life forms and their positions are noted and logged. The Birkana preps herself and the Holodecks as part of a pre-programmed response to receive the evacuees. In the event that there are more souls than the Holodecks could accommodate, or they are being utilized already or time is literally limited to seconds, the evacuees will be placed in any spot on the ship not occupied by another person. There are three notable variations. The bridge officers are beamed to the bridge, detainees in their brig are transported to our brig here and medical personnel and patients are transported to Sick Bay or whichever part of the ship we are using for E-MED, or "emergency medical", whether it is the actual sick bay, a holodeck, or a shuttle bay."

"Captain Morgan, one last noteworthy item. Some have been critical with regards to some of your choices in Senior Staff but none have peaked more interest than your special scientific advisor. She is something of a celebrity but some consider her a security risk. However, she is credited with being instrumental in the safe return of Voyager"

"You are correct. However, I stand by my decisions in choosing my senior staff. More importantly, Admiral Janeway supports my decisions. Each and every one of them, regardless of whatever "checkered" past they may have, have proven themselves as capable and willing to serve. I mean, how many times did the almighty James T. Kirk break the prime directive or rip holes in the fabric of space-time? They still kept sending him out to explore strange, new worlds! People deserve a second chance. Just look at Tom Paris from Voyager. He left the quadrant a work-release penal prisoner and returned 4th in command of Voyage. However, you asked about my Special Scientific Adviser, Anika Hanson. Most people know her as Seven of Nine. She has agreed to accompany us as a special scientific adviser because she knows more about the integrated Borg technology than the engineers who installed the systems. She is a welcome part of my staff and I trust her. She has saved the life of every crew member of the Voyager several times over and, yes, was instrumental in getting them home. I look forward to serving with her and the rest of my crew.

"Well, Captain, that is about all we have time for today. I want to thank you for your time. I, as well as all of our viewers, want to wish you, your crew, and your ship a safe journey. In the words of the Admiral James T. Kirk, we wish you smooth sailing and may the wind be at your back."

"Thank you Vashi."

The cameraman slowly lowered his hand to the young woman's shoulder. When his hand came to rest on her shoulder, he blinked, reached up, and deactivated the vidcam. He gave Vashi a nod and everyone visibly relaxed.

"Well Captain, I thought that went well" she said.

"My thoughts exactly" the Captain replied.

* * *

The Captain looked up from his desk and PADD. Something was different. It was almost imperceptible but something had changed. He looked from one side of his ready room to the other but nothing seemed to have changed. As he listened, he realized that the steady, low volume "thrum" of the decks sounded a little different in pitch. He fleetingly thought about running a diagnostic when the sudden whistle of his ready-room door, which he thought was entirely too loud, brought his attention back to the then and now.

"Come"

The doors opened with an almost imperceptible "swoosh" and he knew why things felt and sounded different. Admiral Janeway was on board. She walked through the door and trailing her was Anika Hansen.

"Permission to come aboard?" she said with a grin.

The Captain stood and walked out from behind his desk, his hand outstretched. The Admiral took his hand and shook it vigorously then they gave each other a friendly hug. He felt very fortunate. The Admiral had taken a liking to him and the feeling was very much mutual!

"Admiral, you are always welcome on my ship. It is great to see you and Seven. Did you see the interview?"

"Why, yes we did." Admiral Janeway grinned. "You are a natural on the Holovid. Although it is said that Holovid adds 10 extra pounds, I must say that you looked dashing in your new uniform. The reviews and the general reaction, both in Starfleet and in the public, are very positive. How are you settling in?"

"As well as can be expected; I watched over her construction, then the drydock refit with the modified Borg and Delta quadrant upgrades in technology, but I still feel a little lost in her. Which reminds me.. Seven...which do prefer: Seven of Nine or Anika?"

Seven turned toward the Captain with a somewhat quizzical look.

"My preference of designation is.." She trailed off, catching a sideways look from the Admiral, who was sporting her trademark grin. "Seven will do. In your pre-warp military, was it not a custom to have peer-friendly nomenclature…a nickname?"

"Great….Seven it is. Well, ladies, would you permit me the honor of giving you the grand tour?"

Remembering the pride she had when she gave Admiral Patterson the grand tour of Voyager in Drydock, Janeway stepped aside and with a sweeping arm gesture said "Please. After you, Captain."

In the conference room, the Captain stood at the head of the table. It was 1300 and one chair was empty in the Senior Staff briefing. Captain Morgan looked toward Admiral Janeway who was observing the construction of a new class of ship in spacedock that he did not recognize. She turned to him, smiled, and nodded almost imperceptibly. This was his show and she did not want to grandstand or upstage the new Captain at his first briefing with his senior staff.

Captain Morgan remarked, "I don't believe that Starfleet will ever design a conference room that is comfortable."

A strange look came over Admiral Janeway's face and she looked over at Seven, gave her a quizzical, knowing smile then she turned to him.

"Funny, I have thought the same thing over the years." Seven looked as if she was about to say something, but again, an almost imperceptible shake of the head from the Admiral changed her mind. He would have to ask later what the inside joke was.

"Well, Admiral, let's get this antimatter reaction started."

The Captain moved to the head of the table and a hush came over the room.

"Good Morning. I have met all of you and worked with some of you here and there over the years. I wanted us to make this a combination meet-and-greet as well as well as a briefing. We have two notable absences but we can proceed.

"Our science officer, JacreenBosinotAcNorgery, unfortunately, entered her hybernation cycle last week. Needless to say that with that plus her molting cycle, we will be minus a science officer for at least several months. With that being said, Starfleet doesn't have anyone that is fully rated on the integrated systems. I have been given permission to utilize Seven of Nine in that capacity. She will be filling in that post until further notice. I have granted her a temporary Field Commission of Lieutenant Commander. I know that this is going to rub some people wrong, but her knowledge and expertise are invaluable here and cannot be over-stated. She will be in a position to make command-level decisions and I don't need people second-guessing her or doing and end-run around her command. Besides, if you piss her off, I have given her permission to assimilate you." Every one laughed except for Seven, who looked to the Admiral, who was, again, sporting her trademark grin.

"It would be inadvisable to assimilate. The Borg look for species that would add to our perfection, not detract from it." Seven cocked her head slightly and gave the Admiral a half-smile, who returned it. "You said I should attempt to cultivate my sense of humor."

The Captain, after letting the laughter lie down and wishing to regain control of the meeting, tapped his glass of tea with his spoon.

"Beginning here, if anyone doesn't know her, and if you don't, you've been living in a Horta hole… this is Admiral Janeway. To my left and working around the table: Commander Barclay is the CHE, the Chief Holographic Engineer. The Commander's work, not only on the Lassiter but also on the Enterprise and with the Pathfinder project have earned him note not only as a mechanical and theoretical engineer, but also as a holographic designer. He has been working with the shipyard to enhance all of the holographic systems. With all of the inter-related, dependent, and redundant holographic systems, I felt that it was important to have an engineer who knew the in's and out's of holographic systems.

Next is Helm Officer T'Pai. She served on the Saratoga as "B" shift helmsman. She performed all the navigational calculations in her head, on the fly, to get them out of the Miritani nebula after critical systems failure left the Saratoga stranded. She received commendations for her work there.

Next is our Tactical officer, Lt. Katya Moreno. This will be our first posting together but her service record is impressive. If any of you remember the Coatomo incident on Celestus, Lt. Moreno was the officer in charge and was able to salvage, not only the ship, but the mission as well. She received the Starfleet Medal of Valor for her actions that day.

Beside her is Lt. Simon Tarses. He is our Tactical Medic and Rescue Specialist. He served with Lt. Moreno on the Coatomo. Captain Jared spoke very highly of them both and cursed me for having taken them." The Captain paused, and took a breath.

"Before any of you ask, yes, Simon was involved in that business on the Enterprise several years back with Admiral Sateé. His paternal grandfather was Romulan, but Captain Jared, as well as Captain Picard and I have placed our full trust in him. He is an excellent officer, and Starfleet Infernal…er..Internal Security be damned."

"Our Chief Engineer, Clark Kent, who served with distinction on the Melbourne."

The Captain smiled, "and before any of you ask, this is not his secret identity. I've had him scanned multiple times. If he were Kryptonian, I'd know!"

Seven of Nine looked quizzically at the Admiral but she put a restraining hand on her shoulder and told Seven that she would explain later.

"And finally, our Chief Medical Officer, Commander Evan Pollard...also my first posting with him but I'm looking forward to getting to know you; getting to know all of you in time. I have an open ready-room policy and I want all of you to feel free to come to me at any time with any concerns. I am quite informal, much to the Admiral's dismay, and value each crewman's unique talents and contributions. All of you requested this assignment. All of you have taken a chance to be here…perhaps put your careers on hold for a while. We have something to prove… and that is that this ship and her mission are important to Starfleet and the Federation. Now, with all of that out of the way, let us begin with the operational readiness. My XO, Oneal Thomas is stuck on deep-space assignment so Lt. Moreno will be subbing for him until he can join us. Now, let's hear from each of you on whether or not we can kick the tires and light the fires tomorrow."

Captain's log, Stardate 55069.7. We are on our second week of the shakedown cruise and all is going extremely well. We have not had any noteworthy issues arise, unless you count the intermittent problem of my cat getting out of my cabin. Barclay has finished the interlinking holographic emitter tests and has given them the green light for use. There was a little issue with the warp field harmonics causing a vibratory noise to come out of the bulkhead in Jeffries tube 12, section D. That was corrected with no problems, much to the delight of everyone in the aft science section labs. All in all, I would say that all is going better than expected. I can't wait for the other shoe to drop. Today, we begin a series of coordinated drills with the Multi-Vector Approach systems and see how well this next generation of bio-neural gel packs will keep the chaos down to a minimum. I've run some holodeck simulations with "acceptable efficiency" as Seven of Nine puts it. Admiral Janeway tells me that's "high praise" so we'll see.

* * *

Captain Morgan entered the bridge from the aft turbolift and Admiral Janeway was already seated at an aft science station, looking right at home.

"Admiral, may I offer you my XO's chair and a front-seat view?"

"Why, thank you Captain. I will." The Admiral walked down and sat in the XO's vacant seat.

"She'll either be completely blown away with this or I'll be scrubbing out deuterium tanks in the near future!" Captain Morgan thought to himself.

"Lt. T'Pai..what is our ETA to rendezvous?"

"Approximately 3.5 minutes. Sensors are indicating four ships in the area."

"Lt. Moreno, report."

"There is a significant amount of debris and energy signatures suggests phaser fire. A small transport frigate is heavily damaged and we're reading 63 life signs. Shields are gone, no propulsion, multiple hull breaches, life support at minimum. There are two Defiant class vessels holding station near the frigate and a Galaxy class vessel holding at heading 330 mark 045, distance 500,000 Km. ETA to intercept with the frigate, 3 minutes 8 sec. The frigate has been declared the objective and the Dorchester and the Resolute declared enemy combatants"

"Alright, let's do this by the numbers. Computer, prepare for MVA and unlock MCETs, authorization Morgan 33-Theta."

"Authorization confirmed, MVA and MCET systems are on standby. Awaiting final authorization for key personnel transport" the unflappable feminine voice of the computer informed the bridge crew.

"Crew assignments: Morgan 1. Seven, you have the Beta, and Katya, you have the Gamma. Command codes release on my next authorization. Morgan to all sections, set condition three throughout the ship. All personnel stand by for tactical transport reassignment. Computer, commence TTR."

On the bridge, Seven of Nine, Lt. Moreno, and Cmdr Kent all vanished in a transporter haze to be replaced by Cmdr Tarses, who took up the position at Tactical and a junior engineer whom he didn't recognize, who went to the Engineering station. Tarses, after punching in his console configuration, looked toward the Captain.

"All personnel have been reassigned and we have a green board for MVA."

"Thanks Simon...Computer, initiate auto sep sequence MVA on my mark..Approach pattern Gamma 4. Folks.., like we discussed, I want to see a beautiful Praxian Corkscrew on this one. Beta and Gamma, focus initial salvo on the ship at bearing 340 mark 010 and I'll get the other. Computer, initiate MVA.. authorization Morgan zero-3 Wiskey-Tango-Foxtrot." Admiral Janeway watched everything unfold, wide-eyed, without saying a word.

The sounds of bulkheads closing and the muffled sounds of the huge mag locks retracting could be heard throughout the ships. The saucer section sprouted nacelles and separated from the drive sections. The drive sections separated and slid to flank the saucer segment on each side. The Beta and Gamma, the two drive sections, then flipped over the saucer section, twisted, and went into a steep dive. They then crossed and vectored upward again, spearheading toward the undersides of the other ships, like going for the soft underbelly of some great beast. Spiraling, like a corkscrew, they vectored toward their designated target. With phasers set on minimum and photon torpedoes set on proximity contact flash only, both ships let loose with a barrage of fire. With engines and weapons targeted, the ship's shields tried to hold but could not bear the brunt of the attack. The first ship was dead in the water. The other ship, caught with surprise at the non-linear direction of the attack, concentrated its fire on the saucer section but with its backup now incapacitated, it re-routed its efforts back to the primary hull segments of its attacker. The saucer section, literally unhindered, went straight for the prize.

"Computer, initiate MCET transport of all lifesigns on the freighter."

"Initializing… beginning transport"

"Captain, all life signs have been transferred to Holodeck 1. EMED and EMH's have been activated. "

"Captain to all ships, break off your attack and make your heading to the rendezvous point. T'Pai, set course 090 mark triple-naught, warp 3." Without realizing it, the captain had stood up and was standing in the middle of the bridge with one hand on T'Pai's chair.

"Aye sir. Engaging course and speed.

The captain turned and looked to Tarses, who was grinning broadly. He stood and extended his hand toward Tarses, pointing to him.

"Go ahead….say it…you know you wanna."

Tarses, still grinning broadly, looked around and noted that everyone was looking at him. "That went well!" The bridge erupted in applause and laughter. Janeway sat there somewhat bewildered at how quickly, efficiently, and totally not by-the-book the entire exercise had transpired. But, she thought, I can't argue with results.

* * *

The Admiral sat in her stateroom on the Farragut. The rest of the week's exercises resulted in approximately the same results. She had to repeatedly ask the name of the various approaches and attack patterns that the Birkana took. They were all very unconventional but highly effective. With names such as the "Praxian Corkscrew" and the "Vegan Sunburst" and another called the "Arthur Dent," they were able to cause sufficient pandemonium and chaos to achieve their objective. Personally, she thought the attack patterns sounded like names of various mixed alcoholic beverages… something Neelix would cook up if he had made it to the Alpha Quadrant.

Then there was the "Vulcan Sunrise" which uploaded a viral program, intensifying the lighting in the enemy ship by a factor of 3, blinding them during the engagement. But, the "piece de resistance" was a maneuver called the 'intruder alert.' This was another program that was uploaded to the enemy vessel's computer that told the integrated security systems to initiate containment methods, including flooding the ship with Anethezine, if intruders were detected. All that remained was to beam a bio pod over which mimicked the bio-signatures of a group of Cardassians or Ferengi. Since Admiral Flatterly on the Odyssey fell for that one, he was not too particularly fond of Captain Morgan's unconventional methods. Personally, Janeway felt that her selection of Captain couldn't have been better. She valued unconventional thinking; thinking outside the warp containment field, which is what got her and her crew home, with a nod to her future self who had died in the process.

She transmitted the orders giving permission for the Birkana to assume her primary mission. Their first assignment: to escort an envoy from the Tira Epsilon system to a neighboring system for diplomatic talks. She did not expect there to be any issues with that assignment. She leaned back in her chair, stared at the stacks of PADDs on her desk, and with both hands, held the steaming cup of Earl Grey tea. She took in the aroma, the warmth, and the sensation of the steam on her face. Jean Luc swore by this concoction to relax. The jury was still out but she was hopeful.

* * *

"Captain's log, 55099.3. We have just completed our first space assignment of escorting a group of squabbling nobles to chitchat with another group of squabbling nobles. It was full of danger and excitement and something that was worthy of the most advanced ship in the quadrant's time and energy."

"Computer…erase previous entry. Belay that! Transfer previous entry to personal log and begin recording again. I have received several personal messages and advice from fellow Captains. Of note were Captains Picard and Riker, as well as my old friend, Captain Chakotay and my old CO, Captain Phares. I also received a communiqué from 'The Captains Calhoun.' Mac conveyed his condolences for having so many admirals wedged up the south end of my northbound power conduit, but otherwise, it was quite positive. He also states that some of my maneuvers have irritated the Admiralty, specifically, Admiral Flattery, which gives Mac no small sense of satisfaction. I have had a chance to get to all sections and to meet everyone. Morale seems very high, as is the level of excitement. We're all like a bunch of school kids who have just been handed the 'coolest toy' on the block. I don't think most of these kids have been in a firefight so here's hoping that they will do well under fire. I've had Moreno and Tarses put the crews through various drills, which have included large battle station drills on the holodecks, as well as drills to familiarize ourselves with the MVA, as well as a unique drill which consisted to a group of holograms which try to take over the ship. I like off-the-wall, or as Admiral Scott likes to say, "wingnut" operations. I have no idea what a "wingnut" is and one of these days I plan on looking it up."

It was 2300 hours and the Captain was just about to go to bed when the whistle of the door drew his attention. He stood from his desk and called to the computer, "come in."

Simon Tarses walked in, surveying the Captain's quarters, looking around a little sheepishly, like he was not supposed to be there. The Captain regarded him with a smile.

"So, I wondered when you would come a knockin' at my door. We've only been out of Spacedock for, ohhh, a couple of weeks now. What took you so long?"

"Well, technically, I used the proximity door chime and didn't knock… I'm being too literal again, aren't I? My apologies" he corrected. "May I sit?"

The Captain gestured to the sofa and Simon sat down on the edge, not looking comfortable. Josh sat on the opposite side facing him, trying to look relaxed.

"Simon, you look like you're at a cadet review. Relax! As I recall, you used to be very relaxed when we shared quarters on the Enterprise." Simon smiled and his cheeks flushed, though he still continued to scrutinize the carpet. It was then that Josh had his first regret in accepting this command. He still had feelings for Simon and had hoped that those feelings were all behind him. Obviously, he was wrong.

"You weren't 'the Captain' then." He turned and regarded the Captain. "I just want to make sure that there isn't going to be any… weirdness… between us. I mean, I know that it has been years since we were… well… close, but … " he hesitated. "…and I know that you chose me for this assignment. I just wanted to talk to you, you know, as former partners and make sure that we were OK; that there was no…. weirdness!"

Josh leaned over and placed a hand on Simon's knee. They had both gotten older but Simon was still a very handsome man. They had been kids, barely out of Starfleet Academy, together on the Enterprise when this business with Admiral Satee blew up. Simon had told him that the only people that believed in him were: Captain Picard, Commander Data, Josh, and Dr. Crusher. Well, five if you count Spot, Data's cat, but he only had Commander Data's word on that. He had said that Josh didn't count since he was sleeping with him. Simon had found comfort in Josh's arms and he fondly remembered wiling away the hours off duty while he and Simon held each other in his bunk and staring at the stars and dreaming about the vast universe beyond the bulkhead and their place in it. Simon stayed on the Enterprise D until her destruction and he accepted a deep-space assignment, away from the Enterprise crew he had come to call family and away from Josh, whom he called his husband. Captain Picard said he had been honored to perform the marriage ceremony, and that it was one of the more pleasant duties to perform as a Captain. They had kept in touch over the years as they had risen through the ranks and taken different post assignments, but, as parted lovers often do.. they both moved on. Or so he thought. He still had very deep feelings for Simon and had really hoped that his feelings had not influenced his decision to promote his former spouse and take him on as senior staff.

"Simon, I want you to know something. I loved you..love you..and still care a great deal for you. I chose you for this assignment because you are an exceptional medic and a brilliant tactician. Our past relationship is that… in the past. You are a friend and a valued officer. I will command you with the same respect that I command any other member of my crew. There will be no 'wierdness.' I will tell you that I have thought very fondly of you over the years and when I saw your name come up on the list of officer candidates, I was excited. I'm telling you, this 'Captain' thing scares the hell out of me. Maybe it was a bit selfish, but I thought it would be nice to have a familiar face around. Plus, Janeway and Jean Luc personally recommended you."

Simon blushed slightly and smiled. "Ok… I appreciate that. I'm glad that you did choose me. I was really itching to get onboard the Birkana and check her out. Which reminds me, we have intruder and mass cal drills scheduled for the next couple of days on the Holodecks. We got the approval from Seven today."

"Excellent, I look forward to seeing the proficiency reports. And Simon, you know that first and foremost, I am always your friend. My door is always open for you, day or night."

"OH HAPPY, HAIRY HELL," he thought, "I can't believe that I just said that!"

Simon smiled, and in a move that proved that his shields were down, he sat there as Simon moved over and kissed him on the head.

"Thanks for that. I'll chat with you later."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: First Trial

It was about 0430…. About an hour prior to his alarm going off when the intercom whistled.

"Morgan here" he croaked propping himself up on his elbows.

"Captain, we are receiving a priority subspace message from Starfleet ops."

"Pipe it through." His computer monitor rose from his desk and he gave his authorization code. Janeway's face filled the screen.

"Admiral?"

"Captain.. I am sorry for waking you. I am sending you co-ordinates for a research colony near the Romulan Neutral zone. This has been a joint venture between the Federation and the Romulans, riding in on the coattails of Jean Luc's successful negotiation of the recent issue with Chinzon and the Reman insurgency. The colony has gone quiet and we have lost contact. You are within 28 hours at high warp. Go to the base and ascertain the situation. It could be equipment failure but it could be something else. I can't tell you how important this base and its personnel are. This is the first time that a joint venture of this nature has been this successful. Tread carefully and be diplomatic. I'm also sending The U.S.S McCoy and the Harriet Tubman to back you up but both are about 10 hours behind you. The Romulans will surely send someone as well, so be on the lookout for company. Keep us in the loop. Good luck and don't break my new ship! Janeway out!"

"Course coordinates received and laid in, Captain" came the voice of an ensign he did not know.

He glanced over to the sofa and imagined that Simon was still sitting there. "Affirmative. Engage at Warp 8. "

"Morgan to Seven of Nine. Well, playtime is over. We have to go to work now."

"Affirmative Captain, I am on the bridge at this time. I will assemble the senior staff."

"Assemble the senior staff in the briefing room for 0800. It's going to take a day to get there, no need to get everyone up at this time of night. We'll just hit the ground running at 0800. Morgan out."

"Computer, display technical data on the research colony as well as all data on the recent Reman insurgency." He had a lot to get ready for an 0800 briefing.

* * *

The Captain entered the ready room. Everyone was waiting. He was about 10 minutes late. The two PADDs in his hand with the half cup of coffee told everyone what they needed to know.

"I'm sorry, everyone. I was swept up in researching the current mission and lost track of time."

Simon leaned over to Seven of Nine and in an "I'm saying this on the sly but want everyone to hear it" voice, loudly whispered, "in case the universal translator isn't working..he fell asleep at his desk again!"

"I heard that and I will neither confirm nor deny and you can prove nothing.,"he said with a smile. "Unless I have a PADD shaped indentation on the side of my face. OK, let's begin. This colony. Seven, background and what have we ascertained?"

Seven tapped a few buttons at her station and graphics, statistics, and star charts appeared on the conference room view screen, as well as the individual view screens.

"Our destination is a collection of asteroids along the Romulan neutral zone. This Zone was, of course, established after the Earth/Romulan war and the subject of various border skirmishes for centuries.. each side blaming the other when something went awry. The outpost research colony Deep Space 4, informally called Frontier, went communications dark approximately 12 hours ago. All attempts to reach them have failed. We appear to be the closest federation ship. Arrival time is estimated to be 21.6 hours at warp 8. The USS McCoy and USS Tubman are coming to assist but are 9.2 hours behind us. It is unknown if the Romulan Empire has sent a ship to investigate. With the recent internal turmoil, they may not have the resources."

"Dr. Pollard, readiness report of medical bays and supplies?" the Captain asked.

"I think we are all ready. We have been drilling with the various emergency teams, the HAPs" as well as the different Holodeck trauma/triage configurations. Our best configuration for true mass casualty is a four-tier configuration that will accommodate 320-350 bed-bound patients. I know that this is a briefing about the current mission but the level of sophistication of these holodeck programs and the HAPs is quite simply amazing."

The Captain grinned, holding up a "thumb's up" sign, letting the Doctor know that his exposition was appreciated. He turned to his acting first officer. "Katya, tactical summary."

"Well, Frontier sits on, and in, an asteroid. Composed mostly of iron and the rest various trace metals and rock. Nothing remarkable! It was never a mining site and was set up as a remote lab for research deemed "risky" for populated areas. That research seems to have been replaced with less hazardous fare, which is why it serves as something of a minor trading post but it is under the joint governance of the Federation and Romulan Science Councils. At any one time, there are about 200-400 civilians, Romulan, and Starfleet personnel there, depending if a vessel is there and requests shore leave on the upper levels, where most of the habitat sections are located." Commander Moreno pointed to the habitat levels on the viewer. She then moved her hand to the bottom of the screen and continued. "The labs and research areas are in the asteroid in the lower areas. Of note is a particularly large environmentally controlled hangar. I don't know what this is used for but its big. The Birkana could easily fit inside it.. and then some. There are just Starfleet security regulars stationed there..nothing like the troops we have access to."

"Long-range scans" the Captain asked?

"Even with our enhanced long-range sensors we are still too far out to get a really good look. There also seems to be some interference, which could be a naturally-occurring phenomenon, but there is little on this base in Starfleet records. Other than an unexpected increase in Leichner radiation there's nothing more we can determine" Seven added.

"Doc, will that radiation cause any issues. Any special precautions we need to take" the Captain asked?

"I don't believe so, Captain. Leichner radiation does radiate from subspace in minute doses. We aren't sure where it comes from or what causes it. I'll do a little more research on it and get back with you." Doctor Pollard tapped a few buttons on his PADD and settled back into his chair.

"Simon, E-MED and Tactical Ground Troop status?"

"All of the drilling we have been doing with all the teams have established a pretty impressive level of efficiency, cohesion, and preparedness. I think we are ready." Simon looked over to Seven with a raised eyebrow. She had reported that their efficiency could use some "improvement" and he had taken a minor amount of umbrage to that assessment.

"Thank you, Simon. I've looked over those performance reports and they look great, given that we have only been together for a couple of weeks. Lastly, are all of the holographic systems online? Are all of the HAP systems fully integrated and ready for use?" Everyone looked to Commander Barkley.

"Ahhhhhmmmm, yesss.. well.. ummmm.. yes!" Barkley stumbled. The Captain, knowing Barkley's nervousness on being called out, especially in public, felt for his Chief Holographic Engineer for putting him on the spot.

"Mr. Barkley, I have been looking over the performance reviews of the HAP's and the integrated holodecks and everything points to the outstanding job you have done as well as their readiness status. Is there anything more to be added?" The Captain hoped he worded that to illicit the most minor of responses.

Mr. Barkley shook his head and finally croaked out a "no, sir."

"Very well. Make sure you all utilize your time to familiarize yourself with the research lab and its history. In the mean time, Seven and Katya, lets do a few more drills just to make sure we are all dove-tailing nicely here. Also, Seven, work with the Doctor. I'll need an analysis of the possible causes of that radiation. Dismissed!"

The meeting broke up and the officers began drifting towards the exits.

* * *

The Captain walked into Holodeck 1. If the term organized chaos could be applied anywhere, it was here. The medical HAPs, noted for their distinct white uniforms with blue undershirts, were helping people to beds, shuttling medical equipment, and assisting with moving personnel. On the first level, several surgeons were working on biobeds that were assembled in a "star" formation. Each biobed had it's own integrated bio-monitor. The different doctors were being assigned to patients based on specialty. He looked around, concern for all of the patients showing on his face.

"Excuse me, Captain." a young man said as he was escorting a self-propelled bio-bed toward a large open elevator. The patient, fresh from having a treatment with a dermal regenerator, must have been badly burned given the hue of the skin he could see. He recognized the attendant as a HAP. All of the HAPs had different faces to give them a more "human" character, yet ever so slightly, there was something mildly artificial about them. Perhaps it was the the eyes. The biobed and attendant entered the lift and the HAP called for Level 4. A forcefield sizzled into existence over the front and they started upward. He again took in the orchestrated chaos of the room and watched as medical personnel worked on patient of all types. Dr. Pollard walked up to him, passing through the sizzle of a sterile field.

"Hello, Captain." If I'd known you were coming down, I'd have put on a pot of coffee."

"Does anyone even still make old style coffee pots? Please don't keep me from your assigned duties, Doc. Seven of Nine will assimilate me if I mess up your performance."

"We are just finishing up. Those are the last of the patients. They are being routed to their designated recovery areas depending on projected need for resources and time. It really is quite an ingenious system that Hansen and Barkley programmed."

In a somber tone, the captain asked "so, what was the tally?"

Dr. Pollard surveyed the surgical bay and went over to a control station. He began punching buttons and accessing menus. Finally he looked over at the Captain. "216 total patients. 90 walking wounded sent to Ward 2 on Holodeck 2, 68 with gradable radiation burns requiring, at least, dermal regen or replacement and deep tissue rejuv, 24 with flash contact burns, and the rest were various musculo-skeletal or neurological due to exposure or trauma. It could have been worse, Captain."

A HAP walked by, escorting another biobed patient to the lift. "That was the last one. Spinal regeneration. Took some time but she'll make a full recovery. They both regarded each other, both struck simultaneously by the complete irony that they were talking about a room of holographic triage patients.

The Holodeck doors opened and Seven of Nine walked in holding a PADD. Suddenly, they were the only three standing there. The holodeck had reset. Several of the med techs and doctors were walking out. She nodded toward each of the men. "Captain.. Doctor. The exercise is complete. Your proficiency rating is 94.7 percent, up 2.2 percent from the last exercise. Congratulations. That is within acceptable parameters"

"Not bad Doc! Good Job!" The Captain clapped him on the shoulder.

Giving Seven a sideways glance, his response was more gutteral than English. As the holodeck cleared, he headed toward the door. "I'm headed to sickbay if you need me, Josh. Come hit me up for that pot of coffee. Perhaps I'll see you in the "used-to-be" Officers Lounge later?"

"He sounded somewhat displeased. His proficiency rating was acceptable. Was there an issue prior to my arrival?" Seven stood there, ramrod stiff, waiting for an answer.

The Captain and Seven stood in the empty holodeck, which had been a whirlwind of activity just minutes before. "He wasn't angry. The quip about the Officer's Lounge is something of a joke. I'll tell you later. Seven, have you ever thought that the way you 'phrase' things could use some tweaking?"

Seven regarded him and her thoughts went back to a similar conversation she had with B'Elanna Torres after she had been freed from the collective. "I have been told as much in the past and have attempted to couch my conversations with the usual human pleasantries. Sometimes, it seems, it just does not work. His proficiency was higher than the last exercise. I did 'congratulate' him!"

Josh rolled his eyes and it finally struck him why Admiral Janeway had pulled him aside and told him that he would have to work overtime to integrate Seven into his crew. She had told him "To the Borg, resistance is futile but to ex-Borg, it seems that resistance is frequent."

* * *

While the Captain had the good fortune to oversee most of the final construction of the ship, he had taken complete advantage of the opportunity. The forward observation lounge was huge. It offered a magnificent view out of the front of the ship, much like the Enterprise D's "10-forward!" But from the top of the saucer section. It was initially designated that area on the Birkana was to be the officer's lounge and recreational facility. After discussing it with Admiral Janeway, he decided that the space would serve the crew much better if it were open to everyone, not just the officers. The double-doors opened and about 30 off-duty crewmen were mingling, having a drink, having a meal, or engaged in some type of recreational game. The ship-wide holo-emitters made calling up any game very easy. A Vulcan ensign was in the corner playing a game of Cal-toh. Four other crewmen were gathered around another table and one was dispensing little pieces of colored paper to the others. The Captain was intrigued. He walked over and as he approached he noticed that they had noted his approach and were trying to stand and come to attention. He put out a restraining hand and offered a smile.

"At ease, crewmen. This game looks rather anachronistic. What is it?"

A rather thin Bolian looked up at the Captain and smiled. "Ah, Captain..I found this obscure 20th century earth game while doing research on your history and customs. It was called 'Monopoly.' It centers around the rolling of chance cubes, called dice, and the buying and selling of imaginary property, the building of domiciles, and the manipulation of basic utilities and comforts that people used to survive at the time. The object is to avoid trespassing on someone's property, otherwise, recompense is due. One might even go to the brig..there in the corner! One must also submit to karma via a "chance card." The Captain reached over, picked up one of the "chance" cards, and turned it over. Depicted on it was a male Klingon in a dress holding a bouquet of flowers. The Script in standard read ' You have won second prize in a beauty contest. Collect 10 credits."

The Captain looked amused. "How peculiar. It sounds interesting. I'll have to check it out sometime. You crewmen have fun." He walked over to the bar and surveyed the room. He couldn't help but smile. He was glad that some of the crew were getting a little R /R prior to their mission. This would be their first trial and he didn't want a frazzled crew too tired to perform at peak efficiency or too wound-up that they may be jumpy and make a mistake..all due to constant battle-drills. He had ordered Moreno to conclude the drills and for all available crew to get some well-earned rest. He was about to leave and go back to his quarters when a female voice caught his attention.

"Good evening, Captain. I'm glad to see that you finally made it down here to the Rec deck. Can I get you anything? Something fruity?

He turned to address the only crewman he had not met after coming on board. She came onboard at Jean Luc's and The Admiral's request. "I'm good, Guinan. I'm sorry I haven't been down to visit until now. I'm more of a 'my quarters' kinda guy. It looks like everyone is enjoying themselves, tho. I'm glad the Admiral backed me in making this an area open to anyone, not just the officers. She said having their mess hall on Voyager improved morale and helped with keeping their little group of Voyagers together in the Delta quadrant. It had originally been her 'private dining room' on the original schematics. Can you imagine? On a ship THAT size? All that space for one person's 'dining room?' What was Starfleet thinking?"

"I know that they weren't thinking it would be dragged to the other side of the universe and left to make a 75 year journey home by themselves."

"Good point. How are you settling in?"

"Well, I've really never put down roots anywhere. I like being a 'people person.' Home tends to be where I hang my hat." The moment she said that, there was a slight pause and both she and the Captain directed their eyes upward at the large-brimmed magenta-colored hat that protruded out past her face and almost over his own head. They both grinned broadly and chuckled.

"I'm thinking we'll need to reinforce the structural integrity field around your quarters if you want to hang that thing anywhere."

Guinan pulled back behind the bar, a clearly manufactured look of shock and offense played across her face. "Well.. see if I don't volunteer to get off at the next starbase." She looked up wistfully as if in deep thought. "I wonder if Jean Luc would have me back?" She looked back at him and grinned. "Word around the quadrant is that you have a decidedly quick wit. It's been said you speak fluent 'smartass' with no need for a universal translator"

"The 'word around the quadrant' is understated!" He seized upon the opportunity to ask her something that had been in the back of his mind. "So, why did you contact the Admiral and offer your services on the Birkana?" I'd have thought if you wanted to come back to work on a Starfleet vessel, you'd have gone back to the Enterprise and Jean Luc. My understanding is that you two had history"

Her elbows bent down and came to rest on the bar as if she were getting comfortable to tell a long story. Unconsciously, he mimicked her posture.

"Well, I was taking care of some family business when I heard about the new ship. I was intrigued and asked Jean Luc to put in a good word with Katheryn. She thought it was a good idea to have..what did she call it.. an unofficial official morale officer. The ship could be dealing with high stress situations and both thought that the crew would benefit."

"We have counselors for that kind of thing. Come on.. what's the real reason?"

"That is the real reason?" She smiled at him, stood up, and walked around the bar and took his arm. They walked over to the large windows. "I will admit that, for a human, you have a very good sense of when someone is not telling you the truth..or telling a half-truth. Most human's never question whether I'm telling them the truth. In fact, most races trust El-Aurians implicitly."

"So? The real reason?" he pushed.

"That was the real reason.. or at least half of it." She seemed to draw back within herself a bit. Her gaze became nostalgic and it seemed like her dark eyes were looking to memories very far removed from the 'now.' "When my people first came to this sector, we were totally dependent on the Federation's good will and other race's charity. We were rescued by a Starfleet vessel.. the Enterprise B actually. Myself and several of my people.. my family.. were rescued. James Kirk was thought to have died saving us. This vessel, your crew, and your mission is to help people like me. I wanted to help. I wanted to be a part of that. I think of it like I'm giving a little back."

Joshua found himself staring down at her. He smiled. "Well, I'm glad to have you on board. You aren't going to have any issues with our resident Borg are you?"

Her smile faded ever-so-slightly and she suddenly had a far-off look on her face again, staring out the window. The Captain turned slightly, almost expecting to see something out there.

"No.. I have dealt with those demons." Her smile returned. "Besides, I hear she's quite the individual now. Good for her. I've heard that she can still be a little..what was the term Mr. Tarses used.. 'Borgy?"

"Ha! That sounds like something he'd say. Well, I'm headed back to my cabin. We have another briefing in 4 hours. When you come up with a name for this place, let me know. It had better be something more imaginative than '9-forward!"

Guinan pulled a PADD from some hidden pocket and made an exaggerated display of looking annoyed and sweeping motion of deleting something off the PADD. "Fine! NOT 9-forward. Got it!"

* * *

The Captain read the reports regarding the Leichner radiation from Dr. Pollard and Commander Kent. It seems that this particular radiation has been recorded in some long-distance transport experiments, specifically when trying to transport through subspace. Certain bio weapons generate it as a side effect but not in huge quantities. There are other, more dangerous and prevalent types of radiation that show up when bio weapons are used. Some propulsion systems have recorded Leichner radiation as a byproduct of the warp process but not for hundreds of years.. more with the earlier Cochran drives or the old warp 3 and 5 engines. It had the Captain stymied. He pressed a button on his desk and T'pai answered.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Get me a line to Starfleet command via Admiral Janeway."

"Affirmative, Captain. Stand-by." About 20 seconds went by when T'Pai's returned. "Channel open and secured." T'Pai's face was replaced with Admiral Janeway's. Her hair was not in its usual "well-defined" state and she had a cup of coffee in hand.

"Admiral, did I catch you at a bad time?"

"I have coffee..so its not a bad time..yet! Anything to report?"

"We are close enough to ascertain that there is a permeation of Leichner radiation throughout the area but no other signs of bio-weapons. It appears that there are 3 small ships in orbit as well as 247 life signs. All appear to be well. If this were a passive scan, I wouldn't think anything is out of the ordinary. We are about 3 hours from intercept."

"Leichner radiation? Keep an eye out for subspace disturbances. Also, we ran into a couple of races in the Delta Quadrant where their propulsion or weapon system showed that radiation."

"I have Seven working on some of the possibilities but wanted to give you an update. I've had our scans forwarded to the McCoy and the Tubman."

"Excellent work. I'll expect to hear from you in the next few hours. Good Luck. Janeway out!"

The Captain turned off his computer and it lowered into his desk. He got up, stretched, and headed to his lavatory. He wanted a nice hot bath before everything got hairy.

The Captain came onto the bridge. T'Pai was his night watch command officer but she was not sitting in the Captain's chair. She was standing at the helm helping some very young lieutenant decipher the helm controls. She was obviously embroiled in very deep conversation and she was very animated with her hands as she spoke. Unusual! He'd never known Vulcans to speak and incorporate bold arm movements or hand gestures. Generally, their hand gestures were very subtle, if they were present at all, and generally limited to a Vulcan salute. The kid at the helm was listening intently. His eyes cut to the Captain, which T'Pai saw. She noticed the Captain's presence and stood a little stiffer, even for a Vulcan. It made the Captain's back hurt looking at her!

"Captain on the bridge!" She barked. The Captain stood there blinking! He was honestly stunned! That was, quite possibly, the last thing he was expecting. He looked around to see many of other members of the bridge crew at their stations suddenly whip their heads around and lock eyes with him. It was extremely quiet on the bridge and it seemed that T'Pai's "announcement" actually startled some of them. The Captain looked around, wide eyed, then he slowly raised his hand and pointed to himself and as he took in each of the on-duty bridge personnel, mouthed silently "THAT'S ME, ISN'T IT?" The bridge was quiet. You could have heard the proverbial pin drop. A female ensign at one of the aft science station suddenly let out a snort, which clearly she had been holding in with great effort, and that was all that was needed for the bridge to ERUPT into laughter. It was about that time that Tarses exited the turbolift. He stopped and looked around very confused. When he saw the captain, he made a bee line for him. As the laughter died down, he surveyed the bridge, which was returning to some semblance of normality.

"I should have guessed that you were somehow responsible for this..this breakdown in discipline!" Tarses smiled. "You can hear these shenanigans two decks down, you know."

The Captain feigned a look of disappointment. "Well, damn, we were hoping they'd at least hear us in sickbay. We are trying to make them jealous of all the fun times we have on 3rd shift." He turned his attention to his night watch commander. "Lieutenant T'Pai..what the hell was THAT for?"

"My apologies, Captain, but prior to your arrival we had been having a detailed discussion regarding Starfleet protocol, decorum, etiquette, and fleet tradition, specifically with regards to senior officers. It seemed the perfect opportunity to enhance Lieutenant Wayne's learning experience."

"Who?"

T'Pai, still standing ramrod stiff, slightly..ever so briefly..cut her eyes down at the kid at the helm and then back up again.

"OH.. understood." The Captain reached past T'Pai and offered his hand to the somewhat frightened Lieutenant. "I am sorry. Horrible with names. What was the name again? Lieutenant Wayne?"

"Yes sir. Lieutenant Bruce Wayne."

"The Captain stared like he didn't believe him..a broad grin spreading across his facce. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

The sheepish Lieutenant, now getting the full brunt of the attention from the rest of the bridge crew, tried to sink into the helm chair but couldn't. "Umm, Yes..yes sir!"

T'Pai looked concerned. "Is there an issue with this crewman? Commander Moreno and I vetted every individual who came aboard.."

"T'Pai.. its fine. We have a Clark Kent..why not a Bruce Wayne as well? Perhaps I'll find Diana Prince cleaning the duterium tanks? Who knows on this ship? Well, Mr. Wayne, contrary to most Admiral's druthers, I stand on very, very little ceremony. In fact, I'm famous for it."

"Infamous!" came a quip from Tarses from the back of the bridge.

"So, to 'enhance your learning experience' as T'Pai said.." He leaned up, giving T'Pai a stern gaze, "don't do that again. So, what brought this subject up at 0500 in the AM?"

T'Pai looked down at Mr. Wayne and in a somewhat low voice said "The Lieutenant experiences a sudden onset of sub-glottic spasmodic contractions and/or occasional acute sino-ajacent eruptions when Admirals are present. He was concerned about how this would appear to command staff and affect his chances for advancement. The conversation proceeded from there to include officer arrival and departures from ship, shipboard fraternization, lavatory etiquette,..."

"Wait! Stop!" the Captain interrupted, "I get the picture. There's actually some protocol for command etiquette for the toilet?" Captain Morgan then got a faux 'aghast' look on his face, complete with hand on his chest. He reached out, placed his hands on T'Pai's shoulders and moved her slightly to the left and addressed the helmsman. "You mean.. you gets the hiccups?"

The female ensign who had "snorted" earlier chimed in from her aft science station without taking her eyes off of her data, "..or he sneezes!"

The Captain was highly amused. "Mr. Wayne..I feel your pain. I've known cadets who have thrown up on Admirals. I know some who have passed out. I know someone who spontaneously broke out in sweat..but just in his groin area. Our absent Science Officer once began to molt on Admiral Flaughtery.. feathers actually falling out onto the man. But you're the first 'sneezer' I've heard of. Look, Don't let Admirals scare you. They put their pants on one leg at a time, just like everyone else. After, of course, they wake up from sleeping upside down, encased in a cocoon of their own leathery wings." The Ensign at the aft science station snickered again. "Look.. just do what I do. Be civil, especially to the ones you don't like. Be accommodating but not an ass-kisser and be respectful but never afraid to offer a reasonable alternative. Oh, also imagine them naked when they are dressing you down. Takes the fear right out of the encounter."

The Lieutenant smirked and thanked the Captain for his advice, his eyes never wavering from the command console. "Now, T'Pai, unless you'd like to announce to the crew where I'll be.. it will be in my office. Computer, locate Commander Moreno and Seven of Nine."

"The Commander and Seven of Nine are in the turbolift headed to the main bridge."

"Ah, good. Have them come in when they arrive."

"Aye Captain." T'Pai replied.

The Captain was headed to his office when Moreno and Seven of Nine emerged from the other turbolift. They moved to join him.

"Ladies, lets take this into my office if you don't mind. I need coffee." They disappeared into Captain Morgan's office. The doors 'swooshed' shut and all was quiet once again on the night watch bridge.

T'Pai moved to sit in the Captain's chair. She surveyed the bridge and was relieved that the earlier illogical frivolity seemed to have run it's course. Contrary to her parent's recommendations, she chose to serve in Starfleet among humans. They are not zenophobic by any definition, but they, of course, knew their children. There are ships that are primarily considered "Vulcan Assignments" that many Vulcans request. T'Pai liked the order that logic brings and the silence that comes with the company of other Vulcans. She had volunteered for the night watch as it is usually the quietest. The human need for "small talk" had always perplexed her but it was something to which she was accustomed. Her mother was human and as far as she was concerned, her father had the patience of a Kolinahr Master, so she had an intimate knowledge of human customs and foibles. However, the bridge had now returned to a nominal status and she was content.

Suddenly, but very quietly.. from somewhere near the helm controls.. the silence was broken by a single sneeze!

* * *

"Anything new to report.?"

Moreno was the first to speak. "Besides the radiation, it doesn't look like anything is out of the ordinary. There is the possibility that some experiment that the joint science commission was working on dealt with that type of radiation and it has possibly interfered with communications but I don't believe that this is the case. Again, We'll know more the closer we get."

Seven spoke next. "An item of interest are the orbiting ships. Collectively not that noteworthy. Two cargo haulers and a mining vessel. However, upon comparing scans it initially appears that all three are in geosynchronous orbit. In fact, it does not seem that they have moved at all relative to the outpost. Similarly, all of the life form reading appear to be stationary. There has been no movement from level to level or back and forth to the ships"

The Captain scrutinized Seven. "That is damn peculiar. Could they be incapacitated in some way? When we arrive, I'm going to send in the Alpha section with a compliment of Marines and Emed personnel. I'll stay behind a bit with the Beta and Gamma drive sections until the true nature of the issue is ascertained." The Captain had a thought. "Could a pathogen be involved ?"

"It's possible but not likely." Moreno explained. "The station's bio-filters would have caught something the moment the station went on lock-down..if lock-down is what is going on here and would have emitted a subspace quarantine notice. I don't know how else to explain the steady bio signs but their immobility."

"Captain..we will be in optimum scanning range within 28 minutes. I suggest that we wait until that time and most of our questions will be answered. That is surely more desirable than this idle speculation?"

"Agreed. Again, Seven.. not what you say but how you say it."

* * *

"We are approaching optimum scanner range." Seven was standing at the tactical station. "Lifeform readings remain constant. Telemetry confirms previous scans regarding relative stationary status of all the lifeforms and the vessels. Nothing appears to be moving yet life signs remains strong." Seven adjusted her scanners and narrowed the bandwidth. She began a multi-phase scan. "Captain, I believe that I have defined the parameters of the area of the highest concentration of the radiation in question. Also, I believe that I have discovered the source of the radiation." Seven's gaze darted back and forth as she worked the scanner controls.

"On screen" the Captain ordered. Replacing the moving starfield was a graphic representation of the planet with a large, inverted ring tapering down toward the asteroid. "Can you identify or narrow down the source and location?"

Commander Moreno, seated beside the Captain, tapped on her command console beside her chair and a 3D graphic display appeared in the space between the helm and the view-screen. The view rotated rapidly and slowed as it zoomed in toward the base. It enlarged and ended at a section of the base where the computer had highlighted in red. "It appears that the source of the radiation is coming from the large hanger. I'm reading a class M atmosphere. I'm also getting some interference which is playing havoc with the scanners.

The Captain addressed his Chief Engineer, who was sitting at his bridge engineering station. "Clark, will the ship's systems or the warp drive be effected by the heightened radiation?"

"I don't believe so Captain. Some of the earlier engine designs allowed for this type of radiation, a we have already discussed. However, many of the newer technologies we employ were invented in the last 30-40 years. How they will react around holo-emitters, Borg-nanite enhanced bio-neural gelpacks, or even the backup isolinear chips? I've run some simulations and think we'll be ok. As a precaution, I've erected additional shielding around key engineering systems and the warp core for a little additional protection."

Captain Morgan went back to Seven of Nine. "Seven, regarding the borg-inspired mods? Do you concur with Clark's assessment?"

"I do believe that the radiation will have a negligible, if any, effect. This is radiation that the Borg have encountered on multiple occasions will no ill effect to the collective."

"Good. Here is the game plan. Katya, take the Tactical and Emed teams Baker and Charlie, take the Alpha saucer section, and see if you can get a closer look. I'll stay with the Beta/Gamma primary hull as backup outside the bulk of the radiation. Get in there, assess the situation, and report back. Secure the station."

Moreno nodded and addressed the computer. "Tactical and Emed teams Baker and Charlie report to primary saucer for launch and deployment in 30 minutes. Mark!"

The Captain addressed the computer next. "Computer, prepare for MVA, Alpha saucer only..authorization Morgan 42 Epsilon."

"Authorization confirmed, MVA system is on standby, separation of Beta saucer only. Awaiting final authorization for key personnel transport" the unflappable feminine voice of the computer informed the bridge crew.

"Disregard tactical personnel reassignment transport." The computer 'beeped' in compliance. "Morgan to all personnel, crew configuration Epsilon. Report to your Epsilon duty stations. Transfer relevant command codes to Commander Katya Moreno upon my arrival at the secondary bridge." Again, the computer beeped in compliance. He turned to Moreno. "You have the Con. Good luck" The Captain, Seven, and Commander Kent got up and headed to the turbolifts. "Beta Bridge" the Captain said upon entering the lift.

* * *

The Beta section bridge was pretty roomy but about 30% the size of the main bridge. Helm had the one station up front; a large sweeping curved console with a rather comfy-looking chair that was situated on a track for ease of maneuvering. Around the perimeter of the bridge were two aft turbolifts, two science stations, an engineering station and a configurable station, usually used for direct computer access and research. Tactical operations, which was the station right behind the centrally located command chair was manned by the second shift tactical control officer. The Captain took his seat and swiveled to take in a 360 degree view of the Beta Bridge. It was positioned deeper in the secondary hull, unlike the primary bridge, which sat right on top of the ship. A design flaw if ever there was one, he often thought. Simon was probably briefing and preparing the two tactical teams on the Alpha saucer right about now. Seven had taken up one of the aft science stations and was configuring it to suit her needs and preferences. The Captain eyeballed the Lieutenant at tactical ops.

"Excuse me.." The Lieutenant glanced up momentarily and then realized she was being addressed. "Yes.. you, at my tactical station. Apologies..but I'm bad with names."

The young woman, who was working at the console barely paused what she was doing but looked down at the Captain, smiled, and responded, "I'm Lieutenant Jasmine Singh." Her brief eye contact broke and she went right back to her console.

"Ah.. nice to meet you. I'm Captain Josh Morgan."

"Yes. I've heard. At least that's what the night rotation says." Clearly referring to the incident on the bridge just hours ago, it was apparent that gossip travels fast on this ship. She looked back briefly at the Captain with a quirky smile and went back to her console.

The Captain smiled. "Yes. Heard that did you?" He wagged his finger at her. "I like you. I might consider keeping you around." He turned to the helm and wondered where his helm officer had gone. Behind him, the turbolift opened, and Lt. Bruce Wayne himself stepped out and made his way to his station.

"Ah, Mr. Wayne. Thank you for joining us. Your station awaits."

"My apologies Captain, had to stop by my quarters briefly and feed my cat."

"As I am also a cat-lover, all is good. Besides, it isn't crunch time yet. We still have a few minutes before separation. Have you ever done one of these?

"Simulation only." He sounded nervous and the Captain wondered if the Beta bridge were about to be assailed and entertained with a fit of hiccuping or uncontrollable sneezes, but alas, none were forthcoming. Truth be told, the Captain was a little disappointed. He had wanted to see the display for himself. The next time Admiral Janeway dropped in, he'd have to make sure he introduced his new 'best buddy' Lt. Bruce Wayne. "Gods, I'm evil!" He said to himself.

"Sir?" came from both the helm in front and tactical behind him.

"Nothing. Disregard. Alright everyone. While we are waiting for ancillary personnel, lets run the numbers. Helm?"

"Helm is answering and ready for MVA."

"Tactical?"

"Data transfer from the saucer section complete. They will proceed to the base at impulse while we hold a perimeter distance of 575,000 kilometers, which appears to be on the outside of the radiation envelope."

"Seven?"

"I've learned nothing more regarding the source of the radiation or its effects on the ships and base personnel. I have, however, been able to cut through some of the interference using the main deflector and a highly focused cascading tetrion beam. The source of the radiation is definitely coming from inside that large hangar. It appears to be a ship of some type and if my scans are accurate, I suspect that its alive."

That caught the captain off guard. He was about to inquire further but a hail from Moreno stopped him. "Captain, we are ready if you want to go ahead and begin."

"Affirmative. Computer, initiate Epsilon MVA procedure."

The computer beeped it's compliance. The sound of the large mag-locks decoupling somewhere in the ship sounded louder here than on the primary bridge. "Wayne, bump us down just a bit and let the saucer get ahead. Once it's warp bubble is stable, we can match course and speed. ETA to Base?"

"38 minutes at present speed." Wayne responded.

"Moreno. Separation is nominal. Matching course and speed."

* * *

Both ships came out of warp simultaneously. The saucer section proceeded on impulse toward the base. The Captain had queried Seven for more information but she just didn't have it. There was a lot of sensor noise and interference, most of which had been dealt with but still, there was enough to keep the sensor scans 'muddy.'

"Helm.. thrusters at station-keeping. Hold this position. Singh, tactical report?"

"Two merchant vessels, one Federation and one Klingon, in orbit. A Tellerite mining vessel is also in orbit but with no one on board. They have an sizable cargo of Bentonite ore. That's the source of the interference. There are no other ships in the vicinity. No neutrino emissions noted that would give away any cloaked vessels. Looks like we are the first to the party."

"Seven, any luck getting through that interference?"

"Captain, luck has little bearing on the current situation. But as I understand the human propensity for wishing it or having it, the answer is no. The interference will have to be ameliorated at the source. That would involve moving the Tellerite transport out of the immediate vicinity"

"Captain!" The young Lt. Wayne was clearly surprised by something, given the exasperation in his voice. Captain Morgan swung around and regarded the view-screen. The Saucer section is making its approach but it suddenly began rapidly decelerating."

"Captain Morgan to Commander Moreno. Kat, what's..."

"Captain, they are slowing very.. wait.. no.. ok, they've actually come to a dead stop." Lt. Wayne turned and locked eyes with the Captain, confusion playing across his face. The Captain swiveled, having a very bad feeling about this.

"Attend your console, Mr. Wayne." Wayne turned back to the helm controls. "Birkana actual to Birkana saucer section. Commander Moreno, do you copy? Singh, are they receiving?"

"Yes, sir. It seems that the saucer section is not moving at all. Sensors indicate all 88 on board with good life signs. However, everyone is immobile..just like on Frontier."

Seven added "confirmed. It seems that the saucer section has been caught in the same situation as the station and its personnel."

"Spectacular.. just spiffy!" He thought. This will make a great log entry. "Captain's log.. I've broken the damned new ship.. sorry Admiral!" the Captain thought to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 The Rescue

This was possibly one of the most disconcerting things to which the Captain had been privy in his tenure as an officer..and he wasn't sure why! In the drive section conference room, Captain Morgan, Seven of Nine, Lieutenant Singh, Lieutenant Wayne, Doctor Pollard, and Chief Engineer Kent had assembled with their other 'guest'- a holographic Janeway, who was actually sitting in a chair staring at them all. He was not a fan of holographic Janeway.

Holo-Janeway held up her hand. "Let me get this straight. The Alpha saucer has somehow been immobilized just like the station?

"Yes, Admiral. They began their descent to the base. Suddenly, without warning, their relative speed slowed and they came to an abrupt stop immediately after entering this area of high concentration of radiation. We are working on several theories and are waiting on computer analysis to see in which direction to proceed." The Captain finished his report and looked to the Admiral to gauge her reaction. Perhaps it was a bit childish of him but he didn't want to let her down. She had put a lot of faith in him and he wanted to prove that he, his crew, and their new ship was up to the task of getting to the bottom of their first odd subspace anomaly and not having their collective asses handed to them by it..because sitting here in all of her holographic glory and radiance was the all-time crowned queen of space anomalies. He was not the scientist that Janeway was and he was, quite honestly, a little intimidated by her in that regard.

Seven moved to the display and a hologram of the base, the ships, and the radiation field snapped into view. "This Leichner radiation field appears to be a byproduct of whatever is generating it." Kent motioned as if he were about to interject but Seven proceeded. "To clarify, I do not believe that the radiation is there for a purpose other than being the byproduct of whatever this dampening field is. I have theorized that everyone is caught in, what is essentially, a massive stasis field. This would account for all of the encountered variables and parameters as we know them. The field appears to be emanating from a ship or a structure in this large hangar. My initial sensor sweeps led me to believe that this was a life form but those could have been in error due to a large Bentonite consignment nearby. The stasis field must affect inorganic material as well. Bentonite must be maintained in a very carefully controlled environment so whatever is maintaining the stasis field up is keeping the Bentonite from becoming active and unstable. The Captain does not believe that this is a weapon. It stands to reason that this is probably a defense mechanism of some type but for what purpose, we do not know as of yet. The level of sophisticated technology utilized here to generate and maintain a subspace stasis field of this size and magnitude is impressive. To possess a defensive meaure of this nature rather than a weapon suggests a non-belligerent intent. "

"Can we do anything to disrupt this field?" the Captain asked.

"Singh spoke up, "I'm not sure about the stasis field, but a highly enough concentrated Thermian sweep could disrupt the radiation. If we disrupt the radiation, perhaps this stasis field would be disrupted as well."

"That's a good idea, a big 'if,' but a good idea Lieutenant." Holo-Janeway admitted.

Captain Morgan reacted quickly to this suggestion. "Kent, can the main deflector be modified to emit a Thermian sweep?"

"It could, but it would take about 3 hours to set up. We will have to re-route power from some secondary systems. Even then, it won't be a very strong or a large field. It could disrupt a small area. Not enough to free the base."

"Seven, could we generate a sweep strong enough to at least free the Alpha saucer?" The Captain asked.

"Possibly. Thermian sweeps can be damaging to human tissue as well as circuitry so the stronger it is, the more damage it could do to our systems, as well as the systems on the saucer, the bio-neural gelpacks, and the crew. However, the plan is sound and does have merit."

"Admiral, we have a plan. We will proceed with the implementation of the Thermian sweep. I'll keep you appraised of our progress. Kent, I'll give you an hour and a half for those deflector mods. Pull what resources you need. Unless you have anything else, Admiral, I have to rescue my crew and put my ship back together."

Holo-Janeway smiled and shook her head. "No, but good luck and keep me informed. Captain, could you stay a moment?"

The crew got up and left the room, hurrying to their assignments. When the doors closed, Admiral Janeway addressed her newest Captain. "Joshua..you have a good crew and one of, if not the best, ship in the fleet. You couldn't have known this radiation field was a byproduct of some type of a previously unheard-of sub space stasis field, so don't blame yourself for the situation. However, you do have to deal with it. In fact, I commend you on utilizing your resources the way that you did. Rather than sending in the entire ship and crew, you send in a recon team and you hung back as backup. That shows good instinct..a Captain's instinct. I used to do that in the delta quadrant. We would hang back in Voyager and I'd send in a shuttle..which invariably would be attacked, hijacked, damaged, probed, phased, or partially digested by some space-faring creature. Your crew will be grateful for the rescue and your insight. Utilize your team. You are the Captain. You don't have to make every decision but you have to make the final decisions. That's what people will look to you to do." Holo-Janeway stopped her motivational speech and stared at the Captain. "What _are_ you doing?"

Captain Morgan was slowly moving left and right, closer to the holo-image and retreating while waving his hands between him and Holo-Janeway. "Oh.. I was just testing. I didn't know if you could actually see me. So, were there holo-images of us sitting around a table in empty chairs in your office or is there just something like a little holo-me on your desktop dancing around right now" He raised his voice to a squeak, "Help me Admiral Janeway, you're my only hope!"

The Admiral exhaled, shook her head and a slight smile came across her face. "I can bust you down to ensign.. _Captain_! Get to work, that's an order!"

"Affirmative..and thanks, Admiral."

Holo-Janeway evaporated from the conference room. He felt relieved. But now, its time to formulate a rescue plan.

* * *

The intercom whistled. "Commander Kent to Captain Morgan. We are about 10 minutes from being done with those modifications to the deflector. We should be able to go live in 15. I want to run some tests before we do this. Permission to launch a class 4 probe with astro-tech package and a bio-pod. "

"Coordinate that with tactical." Let me know when you are ready to proceed." He addressed the computer. "Computer, send the following message to the Bridge crew and Dr. Pollard.. tactical briefing on the bridge in 20." The Captain had taken refuge in some unused guest quarters. He took the time to grab a 10 minute power-nap, a quick shower, replicate a fresh uniform and an unusually large cup of coffee. Others had chided him about the size of his coffee, which was approximately 32 ounces, sweet with lots of sweet cream. His defense was that he was following "doctor's orders." During Tarses' trials on the Enterprise, neither of them could sleep well. When he consulted Dr. Crusher about it, she had suggested limiting his coffee intake to one cup a day. He simply interpreted that a different way than she did. He left the quarters and headed toward the bridge. He greeted a crewman, who came around the corner, as they were both headed to the turbolift.

"Crewman.." The Captain nodded.

"Uh.. Crewman first class Andrews, Sir. I know that you have trouble remembering names."

The Captain looked sideways at the crewman and smirked. "Is that already making its way around the ship?"

"Its a small ship, sir." Crewman Andrews smiled. He stood to the side to allow the Captain to enter the turbolift. "Bridge."

"Deflector Control." The crewman eyeballed the Captain's cup of coffee. "That's an unusual smell with the coffee. May I ask what that is?"

"That, my dear Crewman Andrews, is called 'chicory!' I highly recommend it. Friend of mine, Ben Sisko, recommended it. His father owns a restaurant in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Just ask the replicator to give you a 'Captain's cup.' It's already pre-programmed." The turbolift fell quiet again. He noticed the Crewman regarding the coffee with even more intense scrutiny.

"Isn't it kind of a big.." the Crewman started to say.

The Captain interrupted him. "Doctor's orders!" The turbolift doors opened and the Crewman nodded to the Captain and departed. The Captain ducked his head out into the hallway and noted an abundance of personnel working in the area, undoubtedly getting the Thermian sweep ready to go online. The doors shut silently and the turbolift proceeded to the bridge. The Captain emerged from the turbolift and the Doctor was already seated at one of the aft science stations. Mr. Wayne was at the helm and Lt. Singh was monitoring tactical. He took his seat and placed his coffee in the cup holder that the holo-emitters sensed that he would need. The fact that he had programmed the computer to do that whenever he had a beverage was insignificant. The fact that the computer did it for him automatically amused him greatly to no end.

"Nice touch! Not your standard accessory for the Captain's chair but it works!" Singh quipped from the tactical station. From her vantage point, she could see everything from a slightly elevated position on the dais.

"You like that? I had to pay extra for these kinds of amenities. The dealer drove a hard bargain. Buy the most advanced Borg-inspired Starship on the lot, get a free command chair cup holder. How could I refuse? I could get you one"

"Ooooo, beverages on the bridge? That's Captain's prerogative. Us lowly Lieutenants have to wait until our break for our leg-irons to be unshackled from the command console.

"Yes..privileges of command. The radiation field.. still stable? No movement?"

"None whatsoever. Here's hoping that it can't extend any farther."

"I want you to set up a subroutine that will access the helm and navigation of the saucer section. When we get her free, I want to be able to stop her at a moment's notice and keep her from going any deeper into the stasis field. You'll also need to instruct the computer to erect a level 10 force field around the warp core and shut down the matter/antimatter reaction, just to be on the safe side. Once they are out of the stasis field, It'll take them about two hours to reinitialize the matter/antimatter reaction, but that's unavoidable. T'Pai is at the helm on the Alpha and she will notice what is going on and realize we have overridden her helm control. She won't fight our control, but most likely, from their perspective, no time has passed. They will seem like they just entered the field and suddenly we took remote control of their ship. Let me be clear..I want the saucer to stop and back out. Don't waste time turning or banking out. Just stop and back out! "

"Understood sir." Her console beeped. "Engineering is requesting release of the class 4 probe." The Captain nodded and Singh worked her controls and launched the probe. There were a series of low hums as the probe was bathed in the Thermian sweep. He waited for a few minutes listening to the sweep intensify and back down..intensify and back down. After a few tests, the computer whistled.

"Engineering to Bridge, all of the tests look good. I think we have this thing calibrated to an acceptable level of efficiency. The Captain heard a little of Seven of Nine in Kent's report. "The Saucer crew may need a little TLC from the Doctor, but I think this will work." Kent's enthusiasm was inspiring, if nothing else.

"Doc, do you have appropriate radiation therapy ready?"

"We are ready to go." Doctor Pollard said from the back of the bridge.

"Affirmative. All crews, report to your Epsilon stations."

* * *

The Captain swiveled in his chair. Everyone had made it to the bridge and it was time to let everyone in on the plan. "OK, we will be separating the Beta/Gamma. I'll command the Beta with the main deflector mods. We will initialize the Thermian sweep as close to the edge as we can get without getting stuck in the stasis field. Hopefully, we can modulate the sweep precisely and narrowly enough to create a stasis-free pathway to the saucer. The Gamma will be on our six with a tractor beam as a lifeline. The moment we are able to nullify the stasis field enough, the Alpha will try to move forward.. which is what she was doing when she got stuck. We will be casting our tractor onto the saucer. At the same time, Singh has a command subroutine in place to transmit which will override helm control on the Alpha and back her out. Any questions?"

Everyone looked around but there were no questions. Everyone seemed to understand the plan. Everyone took their places and the Captain turned his chair forward. "Computer..prepare for MVA, separation of Beta/Gamma on my mark. Assigned personnel to duty stations. Set condition 3 throughout the ship."

Singh's hands moved in a flurry across her tactical console. "Assigned crew are moving into position. I have a green board for separation."

"Computer, initiate MVA, authorization, Morgan 33-Theta."

Again, the sound of the mag-locks echoed throughout the ship as the two sections of the drive section of the ship separated and moved apart on the Z-axis.

"Separation complete." Singh said.

"Z-minus 300 meters. Thrusters at station-keeping." Wayne said from the helm.

"Warp fields have separated and are stable." Kent added.

"Captain to Gamma, move to 2000 meters off our stern. When your sensors read our tractor snap on, you need to anchor us with your tractor. Keep an eye on the saucer. When it hopefully emerges, we may need to get out of the way in a hurry."

A male voice responded "Aye sir."

"That's Lieutenant Lewis." Kent added, with a smile, from the engineering station.

"Yes..I know Lieutenant Lewis. You introduced us! I know..I'm aware..I have a problem with names." He turned his attention back to the helm.

"Helm, take us to the boundary of the radiation field, one-quarter impulse. Be careful. I'm counting on you not to get us stuck. Gods only knows what would happen if part of the ship were stuck in that field and another part not."

"Will do my best, sir." Kent said with just a hint of nervousness in his voice.

There were a couple of seconds of silence . The Captain decided to break the tension. "I've remembered Wayne's and Singh's names." The Captain muttered to nobody in particular.

Lieutenant Wayne turned his head and said, "Thank you, sir."

"Hey, whoever you are, pay attention to your console, Mr. Whatsyername!" Wayne smiled and went back to his helm. He turned to Singh and she was wearing a smirk. Good. These kids needed to relax just a little. He looked past tactical and focused on Seven.

"Seven.. keep a very close eye on that boundary. If something looks off, if it moves or it intensifies, we'll need to back off quickly. Kent, get ready with that sweep."

Seven was adjusting her sensors and scanning the perimeter of the field. She tapped a few buttons. "One minute to minimum safe distance."

"The Gamma has moved into position and they have a green board." Singh said.

"Good. Morgan to Lewis..if WE get stuck, your orders are to wait for the McCoy and the Tubman at a safe distance. Gather sensor readings and wait for backup. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to pull our tribbles from the transporter buffers!"

" Aye, Captain." Came the response from the Gamma.

"Approaching edge of the field. I'm nosing up to it...helm is reading all stop." Wayne said. The Captain watched his helmsman's shoulders visibly relax.

"Good job. OK, Kent, Seven. It's your show now."

Chief Engineer Kent worked his console. "Bringing main deflector online. Bringing deflector modifications online. Standby. Kent to Morrison, add a booster and a heat sync on that duodine converter.. its reading close to red-line."

A disembodied voice echoed an affirmative. Kent continued, "That looks better. Computer, energize the EPS relays. Bringing the Thermian emitters online. Seven, we are ready. Mods are online and you have the button."

Seven of Nine manipulated several controls and the low hum heard earlier permeated the bridge. "It appears to be having some minor appreciable effect. I'm modulating the carrier and narrowing the bandwidth. Thermian sweep is expanding. Boosting power output to 90 percent. The radiation is dissipating. Helm, move us 1000 meters into the field.

"Captain?" A nervous Wayne asked.

"Lieutenant, do as she says!" the Captain's tone was more stern than he intended. He turned to Singh. "Are we making any headway?"

"I do believe.." There was a significant pause. "Yes! The Thermian sweep has encapsulated the saucer. The computer has initiated the saucer shutdown subroutine. Captain..We are receiving a transmission on an odd amplitude carrier from the saucer."

"Lets hear it." What came over the speakers sounded like someone in slow motion trying to talk through a mouth full of molasses.

"Computer, match carrier wave, band-width, and amplitude and transmit the following, 'We have to assume control of the Alpha and are pulling you out. No time for explanations. Just enjoy the ride." The Captain waited. Singh indicated that the message was transmitted and received.

"Captain..." Singh was studying her console. "The Alpha is backing out slowly but sensors are reading increased shear and stresses on the hull. If this keeps up, they may experience hull breaches.

"Computer, send following to Alpha, same transmission parameters: boost your structural integrity to maximum. Seven.. see what power you can put to the tractor beam. Kent, increase our structural integrity field to max. Captain to Gamma section.. full power to your tractor emitters and reverse thrust."

A series of "ayes" came around the bridge. On the screen, the digital representation of all the ships that made up the USS Birkana were displayed.

Seven looked to the Captain. "The saucer will be clearing the field in 30 seconds.

I'm giving the deflector one final burst and then I'm discontinuing the sweep."

"Sensors indicate that the Alpha has bumped up her SIF. Looks like they heard you, Captain." Singh said.

The Captain reached for his coffee, not once taking his eyes off the display.

"Approaching field threshold. Cutting power to the deflector and tractor in 3...2...1." Seven finished some adjusting and went to stand at tactical. The Gamma cut her tractor and banked upward and out of the way. Wayne moved around the helm and the Beta did the same. The Alpha continued to back out past the field edge.

"Release the Alpha from Beta command and return all systems to their bridge." The Captain ordered.

Singh again, worked the tactical controls. "Alpha control is returned to Alpha Bridge. Captain, incoming message.

Captain Morgan smiled. This should be interesting. "On screen." Moreno and Tarses were standing on the bridge.

"I suppose you are going to tell me what all that was about?" Moreno inquired.

"And you interrupted a grand speech. It was very Inspirational! What happened?" Tarses continued to inquire.

"We'll set a briefing for 20 minutes after we dock in the Alpha conference room. Drop by Sick Bay and get some anti-radiation meds. Also, get repair crews on the systems on the Alpha and start your warp core re-initialization. See you in 20."

* * *

"So, how long were we in this 'stasis' field? Tarses asked."

Seven was only happy to respond. "Approximately 2.3 hours."

"Do any of you remember anything? Were you conscious?" The Captain asked.

Commander Moreno looked around. "No, we had just laid in our course and speed to take us down at one-quarter impulse and then suddenly T'Pai can't access controls and the engine shuts down. We were suddenly being dragged backward and you order us to beef up the SIF and 'enjoy the ride."

"Seven, would you fill them in with what we know." The Captain was procrastinating and didn't want to have another unsettling experience with Holo-Janeway. Seven of Nine and Chief Engineer Kent brought them up to speed. Wayne and Singh had been reassigned to other duties and the Alpha bridge crew was once again reunited. "I can see how a Captain can come to depend on his Alpha crew." The Captain thought.

Tarses folded his arms and was shaking his head. "That is just extraordinary that we were alive and conscious for over two hours but the transition from entering the field to leaving it was seamless. When we finally get this field dismantled, everyone on Frontier is going to wonder what we are doing here."

"That's the least of our worries. I'm concerned about the arrival of the Romulans. I'm not trying to be ethnocentric but I have a difficult time believing that they will arrive and happily listen to a lot of conjecture and supposition." Kent offered.

The Captain noted that Simon stiffened a bit at the 'Romulan' generalization but was more surprised by his reaction to it.

"You are probably more correct than you know. We will just have to rely on Josh's diplomatic skills."

"ETA of the McCoy and the Tubman?" The Captain asked to anyone in general. Commander Moreno responded.

"A little over 5 hours."

"Alright... continue sensor sweeps. Maintain distance from the field. Have all Science sections look at this from their particular fields. Reports in two hours. See if anyone has any ideas on how to break down this field without giving half the sector Thermian burns or poisoning. Morgan to Doctor Pollard, have you started prophylactic radiation treatment?

Doctor Pollard replied over the speaker. "Yep. Its done. Already finished. No adverse reactions noted."

"Thanks Doc. OK, all. Welcome back and dismissed."

"...and we just finished our briefing. Science sections are working on perspective analysis and Seven is continuing to run scans but, so far, we are still unable to get definitive readings." The Captain finished his report to Admiral Janeway..this time just via face-to-face. No holograms involved.

"Good. Keep me posted. Janeway out."

Well, that was quick. She must be late for a meeting or something. The Captain sat in his quarters at his desk compiling his log entries when his door chimed. "Come in."

Simon walked in and gave his eyes to adjust to the darkened room. He went over and made himself at home on the sofa. The Captain smiled at him and relaxed just a little. "Were you worried about me?" He asked his Captain?

Josh stifled an automatic response to say "of course I was" but settled on the more diplomatic, "I was concerned for everyone over there." They both smiled, seeing the comment for what it was. Josh got up, walked over, and sat down beside Simon. He put his hand on Simon's shoulder an said, "Honestly, I was worried about you. I'm glad you're ok.

Simon, emboldened by the Captain's somewhat friendly mood, decided to press his luck. He turned around and reclined back and laid his head down in Josh's lap. They used to sit like this often, for hours at a time, just looking at the stars. Looking up at him, Simon smiled and in a weird voice said, "you're my hero!" They both broke out into laughter. The Captain put one hand on Simon's chest. They sat there, well into the night rotation, in silence, enjoying the stars like they used to.

* * *

Down in the recreation deck, the crew was enjoying their usual games and drinks. The socialization was good to blow off steam. He went to the bar and ordered a "Purple Parrot." This was a particularly fruity drink which was very fizzy and very tasty. He'd have to remember this one. He looked for Guinan but she was nowhere to be found. Well, he figured that she would show up eventually. He stood at the bar and made idle conversation with various crew members. He finished his drink and was about to leave when Guinan walked in. She was wearing Parrises Squares uniform and padding. He walked over to her. She smiled.

"Hello Captain. Care for a game of Parrises Squares sometime. I'm just learning."

"Guinan, its hard for me to image you playing Parrises Squares but clearly you do. Do you enjoy it?"

"Lets just say that I am getting used to it. My program was borrowed from a Klingon outpost and it is...vigorous to say the least."

The Captain's eyes widened. He then realized that she was joking. Guinan realized that the Captain caught on and chuckled.

"I'm telling you, Captain, you have a gift. So, what can I do for you?"

"It's my understanding that you are a good listener. I was wondering if I could bend your ear."

Sure but only if you have another Purple Parrot." The Captain looked a little stunned.

"How did you..?"

"Because _I'm_ good at my job like you are good at yours." She turned to walk to the bar and then she stopped and turned back. "..and you have purple staining on your tongue and teeth." The Captain shook his head and laughed. She went to her quarters to tidy up and he took a seat to wait on her.

The Captain and Guinan had been speaking for about 30 minutes. He had checked in on the bridge and everything was running smoothly. Seven was coordinating all of the sensor data and they were awaiting the arrival the USS McCoy. The USS Tubman had been diverted to a small colony on Felderkar..an outbreak of some variant of Plasma plague. Guinan had been very patient with his back and forth discussion regarding Simon. He could tell that Simon was wanting something more. To be honest, he wouldn't mind it either. They had been very close and had even discussed marriage. This is not really something he could discuss with another member of the crew. He had not really known Guinan on the Enterprise. He met her a couple of times and found her to be a very affable and pleasant hostess but he felt like he was getting to know her well. They had spoken over subspace a few times prior to her coming on board. Now, he felt like he could pour his soul out to her.

"I'm just have a hard time believing that Jean Luc would carry on about this kind of thing." The Captain said.

"You are correct. Picard was one to hold his feelings very close-to-the-chest and I never knew him to openly engage in fraternization with 'the ranks.' But he has a different style from you or from Riker or from Janeway. You and Riker have a lot in common. Both of you have a well-developed lighthearted sense of humor and aren't afraid to let that out in tense times. It helps people feel at ease, especially with a crew that is new to one-another like this one. The crew members who have met you and worked with you like you."

Well, its important to me for the crew to be happy. Simon is an altogether different story. We just left my quarters."

"Well.. seems like you have things under control quite nicely."

"Noooo, it wasn't like that. We just sat there and watched the stars. It... was nice. Reminded me of how things used to be.

"One thing I can tell you is that I have lived a long time. Never pass up an opportunity to have a little happiness. There's a lot of the opposite in the universe. As my 8th son used to say..and you remind me a lot of him..I'd let this particular matter/antimatter reaction go for a while but make sure you have your warp chamber calibrated, reinforced, and ejection systems online."

"I know..I know" he paused. "You have 8 sons! Are you planning a Baseball team to take on Sisco on DS9?

"I may if my glorious Parisses Squares career doesn't take off and this Bar Hostess thing doesn't work out."

"I guess what I'm more or less worried about is.." He trailed off when he noticed Guinan staring past him into space. He turned and it took a moment for his eyes to settle on it. There was an odd "disturbance" in the star field. He got up and walked to the window. Everything that was on the other side of the disturbance looked distorted, like looking through a crystal. It was subtle but now seemed more pronounced. He was about to tap his combadge when the bridge called him.

"Captain to the bridge." Moreno's voice came over the speaker.

"On my way. Guinan..thank you for your advice."

"No problem. Come again sometime..the drinks are on me."

* * *

The Captain arrived on the bridge. "I saw it from the Rec Deck. Analysis?"

Seven was working between the tactical station and one of the science stations, adjusting sensors and bringing other, enhanced sensors online. "It appears to be a localized disturbance in subspace. It appeared quite suddenly . I am reading a slight elevation in neutrino emissions along with some delta radiation."

"Captain, it also appears that the ships in orbit around Frontier.. they have moved. Approximately 1.3 meters!" Moreno's hands were flashing across the console. She ran the scan again to make sure.

"Confirmed" Seven said as she readjusted some of her controls. The phenomenon appeared and began to contract, but now it is static."

"On screen." The Captain ordered. On the viewscreen, the image came into focus. "Magnify." The disturbance looked like a crystal-clear marble that was refracting whatever was behind it. Except for one spot. He got up and walked over to the viewscreen. "Magnify...right here..this area. What is that single whitish-red spot in the middle?"

He walked to the back of the bridge. He turned to Seven. "Any ideas?"

"There was a slight intensification of the Leichner radiation field which stabilized right after the phenomenon appeared but it did not expand any farther. Our distance from the field does not appear to need to be augmented. The neutrino emissions have ceased. So has the delta radiation."

"So, this phenomenon appeared within the field. Then the stasis field did it's thing and this disturbance is now caught up in it. Perhaps the field lost its 'hold' on the other ships when this thing suddenly appeared and when it readjusted, the other ships 'slipped' a bit? Its on the outer edge of the field. Any speculation?"

"I think you may be correct. Sensors are indicating that the phenomenon is not static. It is slowly collapsing but at a rate that is only detectable with modified sensors. I believe what we are witnessing is the implosion of a forced singularity. I am fairly certain that what we are seeing is a cloaked Romulan Warbird, which has, at some point, been caught in the field either before or after we arrived. We are watching the slow death of a starship and everyone on board."

The Captain was taken aback at how unemotional and nonplussed that Seven seemed. These were lives that we were talking about. But, she was reporting the facts as she saw them.

The entire bridge was silent, slowly taking in the meaning of Seven's revelations; Understanding settling in that they are all now helpless witnesses to the deaths of hundred of Romulans.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Confrontation

"Captain's Log, Stardate 55044.5. Further attempts to penetrate the stasis field have failed. My staff and science sections have floated ideas; none of which seem practical or safe. The revelation that there is a slowly imploding Romulan vessel within the field was shocking. Even our 'borg enhanced' sensors didn't see that one coming. Seven of Nine reports that the technology of the cloaking device as well as the contamination of the Bentonite ore made sensor detection of the cloaked ship impossible. I think Seven took it personally that her sensors didn't find the Romulans. I'm hoping that when additional Romulans eventually arrive, they may be able to offer some assistance. At present, I feel impotent. I have all this technology and expertise but I am at a loss to do anything. I'm off to my noon meeting to see if any further ideas have emerged. This new problem of the Romulan ship imploding makes manipulating the field risky not only to us, but to the people on Frontier."

"End and save. Computer, ETA of the USS Tubman?"

"2 hours and 13 minutes."

"Simon, ready to go to the meeting?"

"Ready when you are, Captain." Simon was putting on his boots as the Captain had been recording his log entry. "Maybe Seven and Katya have come up with something miraculous.

"The way this mission is going, I wouldn't bet on it. Let's go! Do you want me to go first? Slip out when nobody is in the corridor?"

"Would you like me to just do a site-to-site transport and put you in a turbolift to the bridge?"

"Well... if you're offering!" Simon smiled and walked over and kissed Josh on the forehead." I just don't want people talking. You know.. ruining your good reputation before the 'new-starship' smell dissipates."

"You let me worry about my reputation." He pulled Simon to him and turned his head, and kissed the tip of his ear. This used to be 'their thing' when they were together. I'm ok for now. Come, on..lets go save the galaxy!"

No one floated any ideas which hadn't been considered before. The transporters could not get a lock on the Romulans on the cloaked ship so beaming them out would be impossible. Similarly, the Bentonite radiation issue was playing havoc with the targeting sensors for the people on Frontier. It had been suggested that a series of satellites and probes be set up to produce a Thermian sweep wide enough to free everyone or, at least, to beam them out but it was discarded because of the ever-present danger of the Romulan ship implosion. Any sweep large enough to free the inhabitants would also encompass the Romulan ship, bringing the implosion into real-time. There was also an issue of the energy output of satellites or drones. They simply didn't have the power to produce those Thermian bursts anyway. Same issue with a targeted sweep at the source of the stasis field. Interrupt the field and blow up everyone in the area. The Kobayashi Maru was an easier dilemma with which to deal than this!

"So, nobody has any further recommendations?" The Captain knew his frustration was mounting. He heard it in his own voice. He knew that he had to moderate his feelings. "I know that I sound frustrated. But this just seems like a "damned if we do, damned if we don't" scenario."

"Actually Captain, I beg to differ. At present, we are at a 'damned if we do' phase of this operation. All of the individuals in the stasis field are, to the best of our knowledge, alive. The stasis field is keeping the Romulan singularity at bay and in check. It seems that if we 'do' anything, we may upset that balance with catastrophic results. I'm not entirely convinced that our initial expedition into the field, when we saved the Saucer section, didn't upset the balance of the field unintentionally. I had not considered it before but we may have ignited the chain reaction of events that led to the Romulan ship implosion. So, waiting for the Tubman and waiting for the Romulans may prove beneficial. They may have perspective on this that we may not." Seven was right, at least, for now. Unfortunately, the Captain had already considered the concept that their interference destabilized the field, causing the Romulan ship to implode. The Captain was looking out the window at the small research colony.. the source of their frustration. He then slowly turned from looking out the window and looked right at Seven of Nine, then to Simon.

"The source! Bridge, give me a direct sub space secured channel to the Federation Science Council. Priority Alpha 1." The Captain looked around the room. Well, they have to know what is in that hangar, right and they have been oddly tight-lipped about it?"

"Yeah, but will they be forthcoming? You know how those science types don't necessarily like Starfleet- types nosing into their business." Moreno had a point. There had been several events in the recent to not-so-recent past in which the Federation Science Council had not been "enthusiastic" regarding sharing intel into their science projects and then when Starfleet had to step in and pick up the pieces, they wanted to point the finger at Starfleet for 'interferring' in their 'delicate scientific work.'

"Captain." Seven standing at the viewscreen addressed the Captain but also addressed the room. "What if the Federation Science Council is unwilling to give you the required information?"

"I might be able to call in some favors."

An unnamed voice came over the coms, "Bridge to Captain, I have a representative from the Science Council on sub space."

"Pipe it down here."

On the Captain's viewscreen, a young Vulcan came into view. "I am Lieutenant Saval, attache to the Science Council. How I may I be of service?"

"Lieutenant, We are dealing with a situation out here on the Romulan border near the neutral zone at the science station Frontier. Are you familiar?"

"I have been briefed. What is it that you need?"

"Lieutenant, we need any information that you may have regarding any projects that were being worked on at this facility. Specifically, any information on what was being housed in the large containment facility."

The lieutenant tapped some buttons on his control panel and regarded the Captain. "I'm sorry, Captain, but that information is highly classified. You need sector level 10 clearance or higher to access that information. As a Starfleet Captain, you only have level 9 clearance. I'm afraid I can't accommodate without prior clearance from the Science Counsel."

Simon, clearly agitated, spoke up "You mean to tell me that we are out here trying to save the lives of your people and ours and you want to quibble over minute details of one point of security clearance?"

"Simon! As you were!" The Captain snapped. Simon was about to say something but a harsh glare from the Captain stifled his response.

"Mister Saval," the Captain continued calmly with a very heavy emphasis on the 'Mister" part, "your logic fails you. Your information is not only inaccurate but out of date. You assume that I have the standard 'Captain's access." I do not. I am the Captain of the most advanced Starfleet vessel in the quadrant beset with a mission to save lives at a moment's notice. My security code is being transmitted now." The Captain typed a few buttons. "Lambda clearance for all information pertaining to my assigned mission. Level 12 clearance! Now, I suggest that you transmit the information that I requested in short-order-fashion or I will have Admiral Janeway climbing so far north up your south-bound deuterium tank, that you'll need a week on Risa to dislodge the Admiral's pips! Besides, you don't want me to tell your mother about your little 'lapse in logic'?"

The young Vulcan actually looked briefly stunned by that remark but rapidly composed himself. "You..are acquainted with my mother?"

"I knew her when I served on the USS Potemkin. I'll keep this between you and I but I can't wait long for that information."

"It will be transmitted within the hour." He raised his hand in the Vulcan salute. "Live long and prosper."

The Captain raised his hand in the same fashion. "Peace and long life." He clicked off the subspace link and sat back in his chair, somewhat smug. "That went well" he thought! That was when he noticed the staff staring at him, some smiling and some not.

"Sooo...I'm pretty familiar with your service record and you've never stepped foot on the Potemkin." The Doctor said.

"I haven't. But he doesn't know that and doesn't have clearance to look it up.. I do!" He swiveled his screen around and the service history or Lieutenant Savan was there. "I looked it up and saw his mother had served about the time I left the Enterprise."

"Cute" the Doctor smiled "..but the clearance? I didn't know you had level 12 clearance. I know some Admirals that don't have level 12 Lambda clearance." The Doctor continued.

"Yeah.. about that..I don't." The Captain sported an evil grin. "But Admiral Janeway does and she has a particularly bad habit of not covering her keyboard when she types." He pointed his finger at Seven. "And you don't go tattling on me." Seven simply raised an eyebrow.

"Wait.. you used.. THE ADMIRAL'S security clearance?" Simon was sitting there in disbelief, mouth wide open. "Who ARE you and where did you transport our Captain?"

"Look, we needed this information and Mr 'stuffy' wasn't going to be forthcoming. I could tell that immediately. He won't check on that either, I can assure you." The Captain reassured everyone.

Simon shook his head. "How do you get away with these stunts? I was just born and look at the trouble I caused."

"My endearing charm?"

The com system activated, "Yellow alert...Yellow alert, Captain to the Bridge."

The Captain got up and as he turned he glanced out the window. Swooping in was a very angry looking Romulan Warbird in the process of decloaking. "Why is it I have to find out what the hell is going on around here by looking out a window?" The Captain and the staff made their way to the Bridge.

Seven stopped the Captain briefly while everyone proceeded to the bridge. "Captain, your cavalier use of pilfered authorization codes may not have been wise."

"True, but it may be the key we need to save a whole bunch of lives."

"Perhaps." Seven regarded him dubiously but there was no further discussion on the matter.

The Captain and Seven strode onto the bridge. "Report!"

Moreno, at tactical, was working her console and organizing readouts. "A Praelor class Romulan Warbird decloaking at 260 mark 180. Weapons systems active but no targeting sensors or locks noted."

"Open a channel." The computer answered with the standard hailing signal. "This is Captain Joshua Morgan of the Federation Rescue Vessel Birkana. We have been here for some time and have gathered a significant amount of data regarding the phenomenon affecting this area of space. If you'd like to come aboard, we'd like to consult with you to try to find a way to resolve the problem."

Several seconds went by and Chief Engineer Kent, at the engineering console, was the first to speak up. "It seems that they aren't in the mood for chatting."

"No" the Captain countered "We are a new class of vessel and this is the first time they've been able to lay sensors on us. They are just giving us a good once-over."

"Perhaps Starfleet should simply send a communique to just watch the evening news." Seven said from the back of the bridge.

Almost everyone slowly turned and stared at Seven of Nine. "Why Seven, that was pretty good...quick too." Moreno said from tactical. "Captain, getting a response.."

"On Screen."

"I am Commander Setek of the Romulan Third Order. Forgive me but I am not familiar with your class of vessel. The Imperial Warship Ra'akal was dispatched to this area to investigate but has not reported. We were sent to investigate her lack of communication."

"Commander, if you'd like to come over with your science team, we'd be happy to share everything we've learned since our arrival here about 8 hours ago. It appears that some sort of stasis field is being generated from the surface and we are unsure why, possibly due to some classified experiments. We've attempted to penetrate the field with no success. We were hoping you may have some insight that could help us."

The Romulan Commander eyed him for an uncomfortable few seconds. "Very well, prepare to receive myself and my science team. Setek out."

Commander Setek and several of his science staff beamed on board and were escorted to the conference room. Seven of Nine had been asked to brief the Romulans on the situation but, for the time being, leave the part out about the slowly imploding Romulan ship already caught up in the field. She covered everything, in depth, from the time they arrived, their scans of the field, their efforts to go to the base, getting the Alpha Saucer stuck and then unstuck and their continuing work. However, he wanted to break the news about the Ra'akal to Setek himself. Setek's science staff asked many questions and were given all the data the Birkana had accumulated. When it seemed that Seven had fulfilled her duties, she was dismissed. Setek dismissed his staff to return to the Warbird and begin working through the information. The Captain now turned to Commander Setek to, unfortunately, be the bearer of bad news.

"Commander, there is one piece of information that has been withheld up to this point, and it is out of respect for a fellow Captain that I did so. I wanted to inform you personally." The Captain leaned forward and typed several commands into his computer. A graphic representation of the slow-implosion was on screen. "not long before you arrived, we noted a disturbance in the stasis field. After multiple sensor scans, we theorize that what we are seeing is an implosion... of a controlled singularity.. very similar to the ones which you use as a power source. We hope that we are wrong. But we are going off the premise that this is your missing Ra'akal. We aren't sure when it arrived , either before or after we did, but we have been working overtime to try to come up with a way to, at least, get a transporter lock on everyone there and beam them to safety. The ship was cloaked and with all of the damn radiation pollution muddling up our sensors, we did not know that it was out there.

Setek, took in the graphic. "Yes, Captain, our scans told us much the same thing."

"So, you knew? But.. you wanted to gauge if and how I would tell you."

"Yes. I am pleasantly surprised that you informed me yourself rather than have an underling do it in some cold presentation. I was admittedly not a huge fan of these new peace overtures initially. I am a warrior..not a scientist. However, my recent dealings with other Starfleet personnel, specifically your Captain Riker, have prompted me to reevaluate my previous attitudes. I am a proud man and that is not an easy confession to make. I was raised to hate "Earthers" as my Grandfather called you and of course, there is the hyperbole and rhetoric from the usual sources within the government. I'm sure that your government is the same way. I have come to determine that perhaps that what our governments say is not always..shall we say.. completely factual or grounded in truth. When I learned that it was The Birkana coming to this sector, I did my research on you. You do not have a large file with the Tal Shiar, but it is enlightening. You have a man of Romulan descent serving on your ship, if I am not mistaken."

"Yes, he's my Chief Field Medic and Rescue Technician. He's also a very close friend. I'm glad that we have common ground here. You may already be aware but I want to make sure that you know that the The USS Tubman will be here within the hour as well. She is a science vessel and is coming for support. I'm expecting a communique from the Federation Science Council very soon which may shed some light on our situation and may assist us in getting to the bottom of this. Have your science sections look over the data and perhaps we can come up with a way to resolve this."

"While they are working on that, perhaps you would be kind enough to show me your new ship. The news reports from Earth only show so much." He smiled.

"Commander, I'd be happy to."

The Commander and the Captain had just run through one of the triage programs on holodeck one to drive home the point that this was a rescue vessel. The Commander had been impressed but the Captain had held off on taking his Romulan counterpart through some of the more 'sensitive' areas of the ship. Right as the demonstration ended, the Romulan Commander received a private communique from his ship.

"Were you able to get any information out of the Romulan Science Council?"

"I was not successful. My superior, Laegit Tomalak would not authorize the release of that information. He sent sealed orders instead. That, Captain, makes me nervous.. and few things make me nervous."

"I feel your pain. In the spirit of cooperation, I'll share the information we get from the Federation Science Council. I'm hoping the information we receive will be useful. I had to perform a little act of subterfuge to get it but It may help."

They entered Sickbay and he introduced Doctor Pollard to the Commander. The Doctor was very accommodating in showing him one of the holographic medics.

"If you have a moment, I'll activate one of the new Mark XII holographic Doctors. Commander, if you'll indulge me, I would like to see how this new EMH deals with Romulan physiology." Setek nodded and smiled, somewhat intrigued. Pollard cleared his throat. "Computer, activate EMH demo program." A middle-aged woman with blond hair appeared wearing the standard Starfleet medical blue uniform and a blue lab coat.

"How may I assist you today?" she smiled and looked from one man to the other.

Dr. Pollard looked over, smiled, and told her, "My friend here is having some problems with stress and sleeping. What would you suggest?

"That was remarkably on the nose Doctor. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had been spying on me." The Romulan chuckled.

"No, Commander.. just known a few Captains in my time." Pollard said.

The EMH arrived with a medical tricorder and began scanning the Romulan. "I am scanning your Romulan physiology. I do not get the chance to treat many Romulans. When was the last time you took some time off? A vacation?

"Oh.. it has been years."

"I am detecting a minor elevation of your Dimorphin levels. This is commonly known as the 'stress hormone' in Romulans as well as Vulcans, since, as you know, both races share a similar physiology. However, it is not dangerously high." She continued to scan him. "Your Blood pressure and other vital signs are well within tolerances for your height, weight, and approximate age. I'd recommend taking some time for yourself on our holodeck if you have time. Perhaps a visit to the Rigelian seashore or similar vacation spot. If you are back on the Romulus anytime soon, this is a good time to visit the Crystal plains or the nearby Salvaki forests."

The Commander smiled, "Impressive Captain..Doctor, that she would be able to know vacation spots on Romulus.

"I am programmed to access and cross reference any of the computer files in the Starfleet Database. One of the Cultural Exchange files mentions many of the locations with which many Romulans consider family vacation spots and relaxing destinations. As it stands, you are in good health. Do you need any further assistance?"

"No, thank you. Computer, close EMH." The Doctor looked back to the other men. "They are pretty impressive, are they not?"

"Thank you Doctor. That was most enlightening. I may actual take her up on that suggestion. My children have been filling my subspace inbox with requests to see the Crystal plains."

The intercom whistled. "Captain, encoded subspace message coming in from Starfleet, Science Council."

"Right on time. Commander, if you'll join me in my office, we can look at it together."

"Thank you Captain."

The Captain and Commander sat together in his office and he turned his computer toward his Romulan counterpart. "Computer, open encoded message. He typed in his authorization code and surprisingly, an annoyed looking Admiral Janeway filled the screen. He quickly looked around to make sure the creepy holographic version had not materialized as well.

"Captain, clearly, we need to have a little talk! DO YOU KNOW how much of a hassle it is to change my security codes? The Chief of Starfleet Intelligence is breathing down my neck. However, here is the information that you needed. If you had sent me a message, I could have retrieved this for you without the hassle. You are officially uninvited for Christmas dinner. Janeway OUT!"

The Captain and Commander exchanged glances somewhat worried glances. "She did not seem content with whatever act of 'subterfuge' you attempted. However, I look forward to meeting your Admiral Janeway some time in the future."

"Yeah, me.. not so much! Hopefully, she'll forgive me, though. She's a force of nature, I'll tell you! Lets look at this data packet."

He began scrolling but there was a massive amount of data there. It was like looking for the proverbial needle in three of four haystacks.

"Hang on.. I have a better idea. Seven, report to my office."

"Oh, that is your Borg, is it not?"

"She was a drone but was liberated from the collective."

"We ascertained that having a group of Borg, or their superior technology, would be tactically advantageous. After the initial Borg encounters on your Stardate 41903.0 in what you call Sectors 30 and 31, we sent a fleet of our newest Warbirds. They were never heard from again."

Seven entered the room before the Captain could respond. "Yes, Captain?"

"Seven, the packet that came from the Science Council, it's a lot of information. Could you sift through it and find some correlative data?"

"I will be at my workstation."

"Ms. Hansen?" The Commander stood. "I was wondering.. if your Captain will permit me a question.. do you have access to the knowledge of what happened to a fleet of Romulan Warbirds in or around your Stardate 41102?" They were sent to find the Borg and were never heard from again."

She stood there for a moment. "Spacial grid 04125.2.. Species 3783; Romulan. The Collective encountered 20 Warships, some severely damaged. Their biological and technological distinctiveness were added to our own."

The Captain felt vaguely horrified but did not show it. The Commander looked down and kept his gaze toward the desk for a moment. He then looked up. "Thank you, Ms. Hansen. At least I can update those files regarding those lost Warbirds. It was assumed they had been destroyed but if you could send me that information regarding the location, I would be in your debt."

Seven looked at the Captain and nodded. She seemed rather sheepish after laying out that information in such a cold fashion. "They encountered an expeditionary force: Species 3823, the Feldomar. The Feldomar were destroyed but several of the Warbirds were heavily damaged. However, Commander, if it is any consolation, the Warbirds encountered three Cubes and a Sphere. Even in their weakened state, they were able to destroy one Cube and disable the Sphere before the Borg adapted. Most of the Romulan Warbirds were destroyed. Those that were not were assimilated. Had the Romulans encountered a single Cube, their mission might have been successful." She looked at the Captain, who gave her a slight nod. "I hope this was helpful."

"Thank you, Seven. Dismissed."

Seven of Nine nodded, turned, and left the room. The two Captains sat there in silence for several seconds. Captain Morgan broke the silence. "You knew people on that mission? Family? Friends?"

"Both, actually. It was to be a glorious mission. As I said, it was always assumed that they had been destroyed or assimilated, but now we know. I will write up a report that shines the best possible light on our valiant and glorious efforts to fight the Borg. At least, we can close the files on those that were lost. Captain, I will return to my ship and wait for Ms. Hansen to sort through that information."

"I'll let you know the moment we know anything." The Captain felt uneasy for some reason but, couldn't figure out why. He had the distinct feeling that the Commander wasn't being completely truthful with him. He didn't want to chalk it up to preconceived vague notions about Romulans in general. He pushed his feelings to the side for now until he had something more concrete to go on.

Seven of Nine had been sifting thought the data packet for about 15 minutes. He was about to ask her about her progress when Moreno announced "USS Tubman hailing on subspace."

"On screen!" The viewscreen snapped on.

"Captain Morgan.. Captain Elizabeth Verity White of the USS Tubman. We have entered the sector and expect to rendezvous with you in 32 minutes. This is your show. Do you have anything we need to know before we get there? Our scans tell us you have company. Friendlies?"

"Friendly thus far. Thanks for coming. Nothing has changed. We just received the logs of the data that Frontier was working on and are sifting through that now. Hopefully we'll have some answers before you get here. Have your people looked over the situation? Any fresh ideas?

"None, I'm afraid."

The Captain thought for a second. He now had two starships and possibly a Romulan Warbird at his disposal. "What about creating a cross section by building a Thermian 'bridge' across the layer of subspace containing the Bentonite, beaming it out, and clearing out that obstacle at least.?"

"No Captain, that won't work either. Good idea but the sweep will leak omni- directionally and the spillover may cause the Romulan ship to implode faster." The Captain looked over toward Seven, who nodded in agreement, almost sympathetically. Captain White continued, "But, I'll query my people and see if a variation of the plan would work."

"OK. We'll see you in half an hour. Birkana out."

"Captain, I believe I have discovered the answer to what is causing this stasis field." Seven informed him from the back of the Bridge. He got up and walked back to her science station. After a few minutes, he activated his com badge.

"Senior Staff, report to the conference room."

"Are the Tubman and the Romulan ships tied in?" the Captain asked.

"Yes."

"Seven, go with your report."

Everyone leaned in eager to get to the bottom of what had been a frustrating mystery. Seven of Nine toggled a series of commands into her PADD and turned to the large screen. A Starfleet Memory Alpha data file flashed into view. "Stardate 43779.2..while the U.S.S. Enterprise was on a routine mapping mission, a deep space probe discovered an anomaly orbiting the collapsing star near Beta Stromgran, a disputed area of space, at the time. A Betazoid telepath, Tam Elbrun was dispatched with the crew to make first contact."

Chief Engineer Kent interrupted "..wait..first contact with..an anomaly?"

Seven continued "Yes, it appeared to be a space faring vessel which scans showed to be organic and possibly alive." The view changed to a 3- dimensional image that rotated showing what looked like layers and chambers within a giant seed-pod. "The Romulan involvement, as documented by Captain Picard, was slightly..aggressive.. resulting in the destruction of a Romulan Warbird by the entity that was later discovered to be called 'Gomtuu.' Although its power systems, propulsion, and life support systems are still unknown, it appears to have been grown in space and crewed as a starship. Mr. Elbrun went on board the vessel with Lieutenant Commander Data but Elbrun remained behind in a 'merged' or symbiotic' state with the entity. After pushing another Warbird and the Enterprise several light years to safety from the dying star, it transported Commander Data back to the Enterprise and has not been heard from again. The Commander's field report indicated that it was around the star to die as it was the last of its race. That was also Starfleet's assumption, until now." Seven toggled her PADD and multiple video images of the entity, in the hangar on Frontier, came up on the screen. "It appears that another one of the creatures does exist. According to the Science Council's files, this is a much smaller version, by about 23%. It was discovered in an isolated region of deep space, afloat, and was transported here for study approximately 6 days ago. It was thought to be inert. That theory was clearly in error. The stasis field is being generated from this entity."

"So," the Captain began "we are now stuck with a further complication. This entity is clearly alive. We must not do anything to harm it. I'm still not giving up on being able to save the people on the Ra'akal. This entity clearly has the ability to defend itself well. Options?"

"Well, other than now knowing more about what is going on, I don't see how this changes out situation." the acting first officer said.

"Not precisely" the Captain said ".. now we know that we can try to talk to it!"

On the bridge, the Captain was consuming another cup of coffee. Moreno had been duly impressed with the "appearing" holographic cup holder. Seven of Nine was at her science station trying to narrow down possible com frequencies. The Captain got up and went over to T'Pai. He leaned in and asked in a low tone, "Lieutenant, as a Vulcan, I'm assuming that you have some limited telepathic ability ability. Are you..sensing.. anything from the entity?"

T'pai stopped and let her hands rest on the console. She closed her eyes and for several seconds seemed to be concentrating intently. She slowly opened her eyes, looked at the Captain, and very succinctly said "no." She then went back to her duties. The Captain patted the top of her chair. "Well, thank you for trying."

"Captain," Tpai said "Vulcans, generally, have very limited telepathic gifts. If I were in physical contact.. perhaps this exercise would have met with a more favorable outcome."

"Thanks, T'pai. As you were. Katya, where's that Betazoid ensign?"

"He was coming from Deuterium Control. He should be here momentarily."

"Seven..any luck isolating possible communication frequencies?" the Captain asked.

"I am going to try routing several standard hailing messages through a subspace burst. If this creature uses subspace, its possible it communicates through subspace as well."

"Alright, just let me know when you are ready to give this a go." The doors of the turbolift opened and an ensign walked out. He looked rather nervous and unsure of himself. He turned to Moreno.

"I..I was told to report to the bridge. I'm Ensign Loit from Deuterium Control."

The Captain spoke, and the Ensign's attention snapped to the Captain. He suddenly stood ramrod straight and stared straight ahead. "Ensign Loit, I need you to employ your telepathic abilities for me. Think you can give that a try? And, please, at ease before you sprain something vital."

The nervous Ensign visibly eased. The Captain gestured toward his office and he and Loit made their way into the Captain's office. The Captain had a seat behind the desk and gestured for Loit to have a seat in the chair opposite him. He spent several minutes explaining the situation as well as Elbrun's ability to have a sense of the other creature. The Captain told Loit that the communication had probably been facilitated by the entity, but that he'd like Mr. Loit to relax, concentrate, and at least try to see what he could sense.

The Ensign sat back in the chair, closed his eyes, and visibly relaxed. The tension seemed to melt from his body. His head moved, almost as he were looking around. His eyebrows furrowed and his head turned in the direction of the asteroid and the creature. He seemed to stay in that position for a few moments then he opened his eyes and turned toward the Captain. He was quiet until the Captain broke the silence.

"Well?" He said softly. "Were you able to communicate with it?"

In something of a low, raspy voice, the Ensign finally spoke up. "I'm sorry, Captain. It is just taking me a minute to collect myself. I could not communicate with the creature. I did get a very brief sense of fear.. fright..anxiety. I initially thought those were hold-over emotions from being summoned up to the bridge but it wasn't. It was external. It was so extremely fleeting that I almost missed it..then it was gone. I think it was the creature. If it was, its afraid, frightened. I hope that helped."

"Thank you, Ensign. You may resume your duties. And if you happen to sense anything else, please let me know."

"I will. And thank you, Captain." He got up, turned and was walking out. He stopped right before he got to the door, stood there a minute, then he turned and smiled broadly. "Why, thank you Captain. I do work out often and some say its my best 'asset' if you'll pardon the pun."

The Captain sat at his chair and his jaw hung open. He felt his face flush. He had to be turning bright red right now. He thought, for a brief moment, that there might be just enough room under the desk for him to crawl under. "Uh.. I..uhhh..umm.. Mr.. um.. Ensign..I don't know what you think you sensed but.."

"Captain..its fine! I'm a telepath. We are used to sensing that kind of information all day, every day. We learn from an early age not to be embarrassed. I'm flattered..and, to be honest, interested if its not a breach of some protocol to say so."

"Mr...umm..Ensign.. er..um.." the Captain stuttered.

"Loit.. its ok, I've heard you have a problem with names."

"Mr. Loit. Ensign Loit. Mr. Ensign Loit.." The Captain stopped himself, took a deep breath, stood and looked him in the eyes. "If I happened to have had a random thought with regards to you, I apologize. Please.. return to your post. Thank you." The Captain was intently scrutinizing some object d'art on the table as he stood there.

"Aye, Captain. He turned and walked out the door, which closed with its muted 'whoosh." The Captain was staring at a multicolored, round, glass sculpture on the table. He was completely embarrassed for letting his thoughts wander like that when a telepath was present. He took the same class that all Federation Captain's take after being promoted. After Omega Directive 101, it's "How to keep your composure with a telepath." He could feel his face returning to normal. The more he stared at that rather rotund, almost perfectly round glass sculpture, he couldn't help but be reminded of Mr. Ensign Loit and his 'asset' – pardon the pun! "He did have quite the perfect..." as soon as his thoughts wandered again, they were interrupted by the com whistle.

"Ensign Loit to Captain Morgan." The Captain snapped back to the present. Perhaps the young Ensign had another sense of the creature.

"Yes, Ensign."

"I heard that as well. Only one way to find out. Loit out."

The Captain felt his face flushing again.

The Captain returned to the bridge. The Captain thought that T'pai looked at him oddly as he walked by. He made his way to Seven at the science station. "Seven, what's your ETA to being ready to give this a shot? I don't think the telepathic angle is the answer here. All Ensign Loin could do was briefly sense some fear."

Seven regarded him and narrowed her eyes. He glared back at her in anticipation. "Ensign 'Loin?" and yes, I should be ready momentarily."

The Captain froze for a moment, realizing what he had said. "Ensign LOIT!" The Captain composed himself "Good." He went back to his chair and sat down. He took a long sip from his over sized coffee cup. He was comforted by the warm coffee and the smell of the chicory relaxed him. He heard a hissing. It was small and intermittent. He heard it again. Possibly the out-gassing of some conduit or the shorting of a circuit? He looked around and could not determine the source. He heard it yet again. He swiveled and was about to bring it to Moreno's attention when he noticed she was leaned over her console, making the sound trying to get his attention. He looked up at her and mouthed 'what?'

"Ensign LOIN?" she whispered and smiled broadly.

The Captain just swiveled his chair forward and locked it in. He took another long sip from his coffee. He glanced around and noted that everyone was going about their business. Except for Kent. He was over there at his engineering console, smirking. He felt his face begin to flushing again.

"Captain, ready to proceed with lingui-code transmissions." Seven said from her work station.

'About time' he thought. "Proceed." he said.

Seven toggled commands and the computer began sending a series of hails and friendship messages on multiple bandwidths through subspace, aimed specifically at the asteroid. The bridge was silent for several minutes. The computer beeped as a signal that it had run through it programmed course.

Moreno, from the tactical station, addressed the bridge, "it looks like that had no effect. We can run the program again."

"Proceed."

Moreno nodded to Seven and she toggled the commands to begin the transmission again. After several minutes, the results were the same. "Sorry Captain," Moreno said, "still no effect."

"Captain," T'pai said from navigation, "the Romulan Warbird has powered her engines and is making its way to the outer edge of Frontier, where the field is closest to the entity in the hangar."

"What? What the hell is Setek doing? Open a channel and keep a close eye on her. I need to know if her weapon status changes."

"Channel open." T'pai said.

"Birkana Captain Morgan to Commander Setek. Please explain your actions."

"The face of Commander Setek filled the screen. "Captain, I regret that I cannot wait for any other attempts at a peaceful resolution to this crisis. I have already disobeyed orders by allowing you the chance to communicate with the creature but my orders are clear. This creature, and the one like it, are responsible for thousands of Romulan deaths. We have determined that there is no way to save those on the Ra'akal. My orders from the Imperial Council are to destroy that creature. We claim rite of vengeance."

"Commander, listen to me." The Captain had stood at this time and was walking toward the screen. "You don't know what that action might do. You could set off a chain of events which could destroy your ship, your crew, the civilians and scientists on Frontier, or us. Now please, we will figure this out. Consider your actions here. Stand down and lets get our heads together and come up with another solution."

I'm sorry, Captain, but my orders were very clear. I am to destroy the entity and unless I am disabled in some manner, I have to carry out my orders. I am sorry, Captain. I regret that our alliance will end in this manner."

"Commander, you need to consider this carefully! I am prepared to defend the life of this creature as well as the lives you are blithely willing to sacrifice for some vendetta. There is a better way to remember your fallen comrades." The Captain turned to Moreno and motioned her to mute the feed. "Morgan to Tubman, Captain White, I need you to come around us and cut off Setek." He looked down to T'pai. "Pursuit course, best speed." T'pai nodded and began laying in the commands.

"This is the Tubman. Understood, but you do realize that we are a science vessel. We are no match for a Warbird."

The Captain smiled. "What? Are your weapons and shield emitters being delivered on Tuesday? With any luck, you won't have to be a match for her. Do not engage unless you are threatened or you get a direct order to do so."

He motioned for Moreno to put him back on with Setek. "Setek has severed the link." She said.

"He is moving into optimal firing position." T'pai said. "However, he hasn't armed his disruptors yet and neither have they cloaked. He is making, what some would consider, tactically unwise and unsound decisions."

The Captain thought about that for a second. "..unless my ship is disabled. Perhaps he's doing that on purpose. He wants us to stop him."

T'pai looked back at his quizzically and Moreno said "what do you mean?"

"He's left himself vulnerable. I think he wants us to take out her weapons and propulsion so that he won't have to follow his orders."

Seven came forward to tactical. "That is a bold leap in logic. But it does seem to fit the facts at hand."

"Seven, scan their engines. See if their version of the S-coil intake manifold is out of alignment or if their turbo encabulator is out of magnetic balance. If either is, its been misaligned purposefully and even a minor hit can disable their engines for hours.

"Affirmative." Seven, raising an eyebrow at the Captain's sudden engineering insight, went back to the science station and began the scan. Chief Engineer Kent just stared at him.

"How in the hell do you know all that? I don't even know what makes a Warbird tick! What the hell is a 'turbo encabulator?"

Moreno's hands flew over the tactical console. "Captain, what are your orders."

"Charge phasers. T'pai, I want you to position us between the Warbird and the stasis field. If I'm right, he should leave us plenty of room to fit in there.

T'pai looked at her console. "We'll be in position in 30 seconds."

The Captain swung his chair around. "Seven, Kat..calculate as precisely as you can the minimum firepower required to disable the Warbird. I don't want to do any damage except what he's wanting us to do."

The First Officer and Seven conferred for a moment. "Setting forward phasers to 46%. Waiting on your command."

"Captain, I wish to caution you. You are gambling on a 'hunch.' That phaser fire could be a prelude to war if you are wrong." T'pai expressed her concern from navigation.

"Lieutenant, I appreciate your input but this is on me. Let me know when The Tubman in in position. The moment we are at station-keeping between Frontier and the Warbird, you have permission to fire."

"Captain, The Tubman will be on point in 1 minute. We are in position.. now."

Moreno toggled commands and fired forward phasers. The Captain watched as multiple bolts of energy shot out like an old-style Gatling gun he has seen in holovids. That part excited him. Moreno's aim was on the mark! The energy splashed across the engines and both of the Warbird's nacelles flashed and went dark. The Warbird's momentum was still carrying her forward but she was adrift."

"The Warbird's main engines are down. They are adrift and using maneuvering thrusters to stabilize. They'll be OK. We...are being hailed by the Warbird." The Captain nodded and Moreno opened the channel.

"Captain.." The Commander began, "I commend you on your excellent shooting. We are disabled and it will take several hours to finish repairs. I'm hoping that you can find some solution between then and now or we will be back in the same untenable position as before."

"Commander, I understand. I can appreciate the difficult situation that you have placed yourself in. I'll keep you in the loop as the situation changes and develops. Birkana out."

"Captain" Seven interrupted from the science station. "I have a subspace disturbance registering on the sensors. The stasis field may be widening."

"T'pai.. put some distance between us and Frontier." The Captain was issuing the order but T'pai was already executing it. "Get a tractor on the Warbird. Birkana to Tubman.. put some distance between yourself and Frontier. The field may be expanding."

"Tubman to Birkana actual, affirmative."

"Seven.. what's the sit-rep? I don't want to suddenly be aware of a fleet of starships off my bow and it's a week later!"

"I am unsure, Captain. The subspace disturbance registered on the sensors and then dissipated. It does not appear to be coming from the field or Frontier. It is coming from another source. It appears that there are ripples in subspace emanating 40 degrees off our port, 30,000 kilometers."

"Visual!" The viewscreen changed to another part of the starfield. What looked like small beads of light were dancing around a single point. As the point enlarged it flared. It continued to grow. "Seven, what are we looking at here? Is it another Warbird's singularity destabilizing?"

"Negative Captain. It appears to be a breach in subspace...and something is coming through."

"Red Alert. Shield up." Came the order from Moreno at Tatical. The viewscreen was a whirl of light and suddenly an object appeared. The light was flaring around the object as it settled into standard space. There was a faint luminescence around the plating as the cone-shaped object stabilized.

"Seven..is that.." the Captain's voice trailed off as he squinted at the viewscreen.

"It appears to be one of the ships that was first discovered at Beta Stromgren.

"I apologize for the intrusion." A strange voice said from the back of the bridge. Everyone turned and standing beside Seven was Tam Elbrun. "I am here to help our sister and help make things right."


End file.
